SEVEN dog attacks on postmen and women have occurred in Keighley in the past year, new figures show.

Across the whole Bradford district, there were 23 incidents in the 12 months up to April this year.

The numbers were revealed to coincide with a campaign to increase public awareness of dog attacks on posties.

Dog Awareness Week, which runs until Friday, aims to encourage responsible dog ownership and appeal to owners to keep their animals under control when postal staff make deliveries.

The annual week is run by Royal Mail, with support from the Communications Workers Union.

The district-wide attack figure has actually dropped by 15 per cent from 2012-13, and northern operations director Rob Jenson said Royal Mail was committed to working with customers to continue to drive the number down.

“There is a growing awareness of the issue of dog attacks and the problems our postmen and women face when they are delivering the mail,” he said.

“However, last year there were still too many incidents in the BD postcode area as even one dog attack on our people is one too many.

“We are appealing to dog owners in the BD postcode area to keep their pets under control, especially if they know their pets have a territorial nature.”