A LIST of addresses in Athersley North are amongst the main areas of concern for Royal Mail workers involving dangerous dogs.
Last week, the Chronicle revealed that a list of 50 ‘key addresses’ in Athersley had been compiled by Royal Mail alongside South Yorkshire Police to help keep postal workers safe when on their rounds.
It has now been revealed that some of these ‘key addresses’ include New Lodge Crescent, Forest Road and Newstead Road.
These addresses will be used to help advise Royal Mail with how best to approach a property going forward.
The 50 addresses are not ranked in severity, but are a list of some of the examples where dangerous dog activity has been reported.
From the list, Royal Mail monitored the types of incidents that occurred from the properties of concern.
When compiling the list, there were six incidents where a dog was behind a letterbox, 43 times there was a loose dog on a property and on one occasion, there was a dog loose on the street.
Andrew Kipling, from the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), said: “Dogs loose on the property is a big problem for postal workers and between the garden gate and the customers’ front doors is where a large majority of our workers are attacked.
“The 50 addresses passed on to South Yorkshire Police is only a drop in the ocean and we have one delivery route in the area that alone has over 300 dogs identified as hazards.”
At the moment, the list is being used for intelligence building with the police and the local council.
Royal Mail has been providing tips and advice on social media on how to keep workers safe when a resident is out of a property, including keeping dogs behind closed doors to avoid any risk.
