Councillors discuss fears over fatal dog attack

Natasha Johnston was killed while walking a group of dogs in Caterham, Surrey, in January

Councillors have been met with an “outpouring of fear and worry” in the district where a dog walker was killed.

Natasha Johnston, 28, died from "multiple penetrating dog bites to the neck" at a dog walking spot in Caterham, Surrey, in January.

At a meeting, Tandridge District Council agreed to consult residents on measures such as reduced limits on the number of dogs to be walked, keeping dogs on leads and dog-free zones.

The meeting also heard about the difficulty of enforcing changes and the negative impact to dog walking businesses.

At the meeting on Thursday, councillor Jackie Wren said a lot of people had contacted councillors and were “very, very concerned” about the death of Ms Johnston.

She said: “We as a council have a responsibility to the outpouring of fear and worry to say what are we going to do about this.”

Tandridge District Council previously said professional dog walkers must hold a license to operate in the area.

Following the attack, it emerged that Ms Johnston was not licensed to walk dogs in the area.

Hayley Hamilton-Herbert, founder and CEO of Simply the Pets, told the meeting that unlicensed walkers could continue to travel “a mile up the road” to neighbouring boroughs if rules were changed in Tandridge.

Surrey Police previously confirmed no prosecution would be brought

Existing policy for dog walkers was set at a maximum of six dogs. At the time of the attack, Ms Johnston was walking eight.

Councillor Carole North said she was “astounded” at what the committee could be agreeing to, claiming there was “no proof” that any of the dogs being walked by Ms Johnston had killed her with no autopsy report in front of the council.