A RUNCORN man’s ‘dangerous’ German Shepherds killed another dog while off the lead in Palace Fields.

Stuart Forster, of the Uplands, Runcorn, was walking his two dogs, Demon and Nuke, off the lead in Town Park on November 5, 2021, when they ran towards a woman and attacked her small dog – which she was walking on a lead.

Her dog was tragically by Forster’s dogs during the attack.

And after the incident, a witness reported how they had observed him remove the lead from the dead dog ‘purportedly to limit his culpability' by making it appear the victim was also walking her dog off the lead, the court heard.

Forster, 36, appeared before Crewe Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty to two charges of being in possession of a dog that was dangerously out of control in a public place at an earlier hearing.

During the sentencing, it was heard that the prosecution were aware of three other incidents involving Forster’s dogs and that they had been trained for employment in the security sector.

The prosecution said that the defendant knew the risk posed by his dogs but still chose to walk them off a lead and declined to keep them muzzled.

Forster was sentenced to a 20-week curfew between 7am and 7pm and must wear and electronic tag.

The victim received compensation of £1,220 and the Council received costs of £1,815.

The dog Nuke was made subject to a Contingent Destruction Order.

The dog must only be walked by someone who is over 18 years of age and must also be muzzled and kept on a lead in public. A breach of the contingent destruction order could result in further prosecution and an application to the court for the dog to be destroyed.

The court heard that after the incident, the dog Demon was transferred by Forster to HM Prison Service and has now undergone training as a general service dog.

Because of this, a contingent destruction order was not issued against Demon - but the court heard that the prison service has undertaken to keep the council informed of the dog's whereabouts once it is retired from the service and 'under no circumstances' will it be returned back to Forster.

A Halton Borough Council spokesperson said: "The Council was absolutely committed to bringing this offender to justice and ultimately ensuring that our open spaces are safe and pleasant environments for all our residents.”