A horse welfare officer has described the moment a dog ripped her cheek apart as "horrific".

Jane Brown was visiting a farm in Sevenoaks when she was attacked by a German Shepherd and Husky crossbreed.

The animal, called Lupin, leapt up and bit Ms Brown's face as she was backing away from a stable yard gate.

Jurors at Maidstone Crown Court heard that she was left with a 9cm long and 3cm deep wound to her left cheek.

Ms Brown became upset while giving evidence at the trial of Lupin's owner, Charlotte Gee, who has since been cleared of any wrongdoing, as she recalled how her facial injury was caused.

Gee was not present at the time of the attack, which occurred when Ms Brown and her husband went to collect hay on behalf of the Kent Horse Rescue charity from Beechmont Farm in Hubbards Hill on April 1, 2021.

The couple, who had permission to be on the land, had driven their 4x4 with trailer along a long, downhill track according to the directions given to them by the farm owner.

But when they reached the stable area rented by Gee they were greeted by a line of gates with no visible entrance. They could also see a woman - not Gee - and the large, barking dog unleashed and roaming loose.

Ms Brown, who gave evidence behind screens, said she was around animals "all the time" and often visited farms in the course of her work.

Her partner was the first to get out of the vehicle but, on returning to say he could not see an entrance, Ms Brown went to investigate.

‘He was my loyal friend, the love of my life and I felt I couldn't protect him...’

She said she could see two ponies in what appeared to be a dog kennel, as well as the woman in the yard and the "medium to large, husky-type" dog which was "just generally barking".

Ms Brown told the court she called out "Hello", introduced herself and explained they were there to collect hay, but within seconds she was bitten by Lupin.

"I was just a little way from the gate - about 4ft - and I went to put my hand down on the top of the gate and she (the woman) said 'I wouldn't touch that gate if I was you'," said Ms Brown.

"I didn't actually put my hands on top of the gate. I did the action that I was going to and when she said that, I went back. She hadn't said 'Hello' or anything.

"I just took a step back and pulled my hands back towards myself. I got attacked at that point."

Ms Brown agreed with prosecutor Elisenda Mitchell that the dog "jumped up and took hold" of her cheek for about six to seven seconds, causing a "very serious" injury.

"It was horrific," added a crying Ms Brown.

The court heard that although Gee does not dispute being Lupin's owner, she has pleaded not guilty to a charge of being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control.

Of the attack on Ms Brown, the prosecutor said: "The dog had in his jaw the left side of her face which ripped her cheek as she pulled away. This left her with severe injuries...a 9cm by 3cm deep facial laceration."

Gee, 35, of Horns Road, Hawkhurst, arrived on the scene a short while later, followed by police.

It is claimed in her defence that a notice stating 'Do not enter. Loose dog' was present at the time and that stable hand Rachel Stannard had indicated to Ms Brown and her partner they were in the wrong place for collecting hay.

However, Ms Mitchell told the court the "makeshift" warning sign - written in Biro on the back of cardboard packaging - was "put up hurriedly" after Ms Brown had been bitten.

In his evidence, her partner described the dog as barking "constantly" and maintained that no notice was present until "long after" the incident.

Both Gee and Stannard were interviewed by police 10 days later.

The court heard Stannard, 27, of Staleys Road, Borough Green, near Sevenoaks, has since pleaded guilty to an offence of being in charge of a dog which caused injury when dangerously out of control.

But while denying the offence against her, Gee told jurors she had "strict rules" about Lupin's care at the yard and believed Stannard to be "a fit and proper person" to be in charge of him.

Giving evidence today (August 19), she said it was known that Lupin, who she had had from a puppy at eight weeks old, was to be muzzled or put in his kennel if people he had not met before turned up at the yard.

She had only been on the site for four days when the attack occurred but told the jury she had put up the warning sign from that first day and was awaiting laminated ones to come back from the printer.

Her rules, she explained, were that people made appointments to come to her yard and, if Lupin was loose when anyone turned up, he should be put in his kennel.

"People who turn up uninvited are told not to come in, if the dog is out, until the dog is put away," Gee told the jury.

Gee also maintained that Lupin, who she described as very well-trained and the love of her life, was not "unsettled" at being on the new business premises as he had been walked there every day for six months prior to moving in.

The court heard the dog, who was kenneled at the yard, has since been euthanised, a decision made by Gee before he was seized by police.

Asked by her barrister, Pamela Rose, why she had taken that action, Gee started crying as she told the court: "I felt that, by living 40 miles from the yard, I couldn't guarantee control of my animal.

"I was aware that a seizure was going to be made. He had the best life and I wasn't prepared during Covid to put him in kennels where he wouldn't be allowed out and wouldn't be walked.

"It is now three-and-a-half years (since), and he was a seven-year-old dog with a life span of nine years. He was my loyal friend, the love of my life and I felt I couldn't protect him."

Gee said she felt "sick" knowing Ms Brown had been bitten but added: "I'm not reckless in any way, shape or form with him.

"He was massive to me and it would not have happened had he been put away as to my instructions."

The court heard that Stannard had known Lupin for about five years, was someone Gee trusted with his care, and who she knew to be capable of handling "big" dogs.

"She remembered the rules. I very much know she knows the rules," Gee said, before adding that Lupin was "easy" to look after and Stannard would not have been expecting Ms Brown to turn up that day.

"It's a derelict farm. They were on a track, not a public footpath and people shouldn't be there," explained Gee.

The jury heard that Lupin had twice previously caused injuries to people, including a bite to a woman's face in 2018, when she occupied premises in Hildenborough.

The incident was investigated by police but Gee was not prosecuted.

She agreed when cross-examined by Ms Mitchell that it was her responsibility to put protections in place to ensure people were not injured again.

But although she accepted the rules had not been followed that day, she refuted the suggestion that she had not told Stannard about Lupin's history.

"I absolutely told Rachel Stannard about the incidents of Lupin biting people. She was exceptionally fit and proper to be dealing with a dog like Lupin."

The trial continues.