Dog attacks in London rise to more than 3,000 a year

Dog attacks in London have surged to more than 3,000 a year, according to recent figures.

More than 8,400 dog attacks occurred in the capital between 2021 and 2023, according to Freedom of Information requests obtained by the Evening Standard.

In 2023, there were 3,389 dog attacks recorded across the city, 613 more than the year before.

Meanwhile, national data from NHS Digital has shown there has been an increase in the number of hospital admissions for dog bites over the past 10 years, with 9,277 admissions in 2022-23, up 47% from 6,317 in 2012-13.

There has been a much smaller increase in admissions for under-18s for dog bites, up by 8% to 1,740 in the same period.

Speaking to the BBC, surgeons at a plastic surgery unit in West Sussex said they were treating double the number of dog-attack victims since before the pandemic.

Siva Kumar, a consultant surgeon, said he had seen an increase in the number of bites as dog ownership rose during the pandemic.