A POLICE sergeant bitten by a terrier dog as she tried to arrest its owner told a jury that she believed the man had encouraged his pet to attack her.

At Carlisle Crown Court, Egremont man Tony Wardle, 51, rejected the suggestion that he had done anything to encourage his dog - called Digger - to attack Sergeant Joanne Philip in August last year.

According to the prosecution, moments before the dog bit her on the calf, Wardle had told the dog: “Go and get them.”

Wardle has pleaded not guilty to two allegations: a police assault and a charge of owning a dog that caused injury while dangerously out of control.

Opening the case, prosecutor Alaric Walmsley said that the incident which led to the charges happened on Monday, August 18 outside and in the defendant’s home in Lamb Court, Egremont.

The officers were visiting Wardle to speak to him about an alleged affray outside the town’s Co-op store the previous day.

“We say that the defendant was truculent, belligerent, confrontational and aggressive,” said Mr Walmsley.

When the officer told Wardle they were there to arrest him, his response was to tell them: “Jog on,” said the prosecutor.

The barrister said that the officers had the legal right to enter the defendant’s property when they had reasonable grounds to do so - but he disagreed.

“There’s no doubt that the police acted lawfully; the issue is whether the defendant was entitled to believe that they police were acting unlawfully and therefore were trespassers,” continued Mr Walmsley.

As the officers went into his home, said Mr Walmsley, Wardle made a sweeping movement with his arm towards the police officers and said to his dog Digger: “Go and get them.” It was after this that the dog bit Sergeant Philip in the leg, though without puncturing her skin.

During the trial, the jury were shown body-cam video footage of the incident, in which Wardle could be heard telling the officers: “I’m not going to be arrested at all. Jog on. You can jog on back to training school as well. If you touch me, it’s assault.”

The recording also includes observations from some of the police officers, who said there was a smell of cannabis coming from the defendant’s house.

Responding to this, he said: “Bring the drug squad.”

He added: “I can smoke any time I want.” He insisted that he was not guilty of any offence.

Wardle can be heard repeatedly telling Sergeant Philip to get her foot out of his front door.

He told her: “If you don’t remove your foot out of my door, I’ll slam it.

Earlier, the recording had shown how the officers told Wardle - speaking through his open front door and through a window - that they wanted him to go with them to the station to answer questions about the Co-op incident the previous day.

After being bitten, Sergeant Philip had treatment at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven and was put on a course of antibiotics, the court heard.

The judge in the case will today sum up the evidence.

The jury will then be asked to consider the verdicts.