A dog attack left an elderly woman with an arm injury so bad she is now unable pick up her great grandson.

Mary Powell, 80, tried to stroke her neighbour's Rottweiler on the way back from her GP in Goudhurst, but instead it latched on to the pensioner's arm and pulled her to the ground.

In a victim impact statement read out at Maidstone Magistrates Court, Mrs Powell said: "I've never been so frightened in my life.

"As a former casualty sister I've been attacked before but I've never been in so much fear."

The attack was stopped by the dog's owner, Claire Akehurst, and a neighbour, at the scene.

The court heard a single bite left the great-grandmother with puncture marks down to the bone in her forearm, fracturing a bone and causing her to lose a large amount of skin.

Prosecutor Kristy Arkhett read more of Mrs Powell's statement: "My great-grandson put his arms out to hold me and I couldn't, I can't play with him or teaching him to play tennis.

"I find it difficult to change my clothes or have a shower. I find myself in a lot of pain and struggle when completing simple tasks.

"I've never been so frightened in my life... I keep a strong face for my children but I'm struggling" - Mary Powell

"When this whole incident happened initially I thought I coped really well but it has got me really down, I'm really depressed.

"I used to play petanque regularly but now I can't. I keep a strong face for my children but I'm struggling."

Maidstone Magistrates Court heard the dog, called Marley, had never attacked a person before.

Magistrates heard Claire Akehurst has owned three Rottweilers in the past 13 years, Marley being the youngest, and there has never been a similar incident.

Moments before the bite, Mrs Powell was said to have put her hand in front of Marley's face and nose.

Ryan Brennan, defending, said: "I don't seek to place any fault on the part of the victim, but from a purely behavioural perspective a canine can consider that action as a provocation.

"There's no need for a dog to smell somebody's hand as its sense of smell is well defined and exact."

As it was first the instance of violence, magistrates decided not to put down Marley, but ordered her owner to pay £1,000 compensation.

Akehurst, of Chequers Road, Goudhurst, was handed a 12-month community order and must carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

The dog will have to wear a muzzle in public and must be kept on a lead and a harness when being walked.

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