DRUG GUARD DOG IS PUT DOWN AFTER PC ATTACK

A dog used to guard drugs has been put down after savaging a
policeman during a raid.

The bull mastiff bit PC Michael Parker on the leg, causing serious
tendon injuries, during the incident at Birkdale Drive, Savick, Preston.

A week later, the owner Daniel Monk, 21, was jailed for 22 months
after pleading guilty to charges unconnected with the raid at his
home last month.

Monk, who admitted possession of cannabis and cocaine with intent to
supply at Preston Crown Court, was branded a "warehouseman" for
cocaine with a street value of UKP1,800.

PC Scott Archer, the community beat manager for Larches and Savick,
said: "It was a very nasty injury and the dog was designed to protect
this man's drugs.

"We couldn't rehome the dog because it was so ferocious, and even
those on the estate who knew Monk would not approach the dog if he
was walking it on the street.

"The dog was a threat to the community as a whole and had been left
there for three days without any food as people were afraid to go near it.

"It was an extremely dangerous animal and was beaten previously by the owner."

PC Archer said Monk manufactured crack cocaine and used his dog to
guard the drugs.

He said the dog was put down as part of a joint decision between the
RSPCA, housing agency and police.

Monk initially refused to have the dog destroyed, but later signed
over the contents of his house, including his pets, to police.

Two bull mastiffs at the flat - less ferocious than the animal that
bit married father-of-three PC Parker - have been re-homed.

Police say PC Parker will be off work for some time. He was injured
while police searched the Birkdale Drive flat on the morning of
Wednesday September 13.