A WREXHAM man was praised for his actions by a judge after his dog sank its teeth into his step daughter's neck.

Schoolgirl Alicia Harrod was left with puncture wounds to her throat following the horrific incident which took place on December 12 last year in the kitchen of Matthew Parry's home in Gwenfro, Wrexham.

Appearing at Wrexham Magistrates Court, Parry, 36, was described as "a sensible dog owner" by district judge Gwyn Jones after the court heard how he he had wrestled with the doberman pinscher before throwing the creature outside and calling the police who later had it destroyed.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, described how the two-year-old dog, called Spike, had attached itself to the girl's throat before shaking her.

He added that the defendant had contacted the police and agreed to pay for the dog's accommodation before also agreeing that it should be put down.

Andy Holliday, defending, said Parry had owned the dog for two years and during that time it had behaved well after the owner "spent a lot of money" having it trained.

"The incident has caused a great deal of emotional distress for the family as it was so unforeseen," added Mr Holliday.

Mr Jones described the case as "extremely unusual" and told Parry he had "given it a great deal of thought" before imposing a 24 month conditional discharge on the defendant.

He said: "From the information I've heard it is quite clear to me there was no history of aggression with the dog and you did everything to ensure your step daughter was protected.

"It is a difficult sentencing exercise but it is appropriate for me to depart from the usual guidelines."

Parry was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £20 with Mr Jones adding that there was no need to ban him from keeping dogs again.

"You are a sensible dog owner," added Mr Jones. "And on that basis it is not appropriate to disqualify you from owning dogs."