Another dog attack - but the answer remains the same

I've just got word of another dangerous dog attack - this time on the Putney Vale estate in Roehampton.

I'm glad to hear that the pensioner attacked is recovering, that the Police know who the owner and walker were of the dogs in question, and that legal action is proceeding against them.

Putney Vale is probably the most isolated community the constituency, tucked as it is right at the bottom of the Hill on the border with Kingston. Because of this, I'm concerned it gets overlooked: it's as important a part of Roehampton as the Alton estate, Village and Priory Lane area are and the Police, Dog Wardens and Safer Neighbourhood teams must give it the same level of service as any other part of the borough.

This attack again shows that ideas for licensing - be they the outrageous £500 fee the Council wants to fleece from dog owners- or notions that dogs above a certain weight be banned, are wide of the mark: his lady was attacked by small bull terriers, not Dobermans or Rottweillers.

The answer is a higher police and dog warden presence on our streets; one rule for all, not picking on council tenants as the Conservative council wants to - serious prison sentences and lifetime bans for dog owners who mistreat their pets; and much greater clarity on banned breeds because it's incredibly difficult to identify some permitted terrier types from "dangerous" ones.

Here's how the Wandsworth Guardian is reporting the incident.