DOG owners in Kent are being warned to keep their pets under control after more than 100 postmen were attacked last year.
Between April 2012 and April 2013, 133 postmen and women were attacked in Kent - fifty four of which happened in Tonbridge, followed by 37 in Medway, 23 in Canterbury, 14 in Dartford and five in Bromley.
As part of Dog Awareness Week, Royal Mail now wants dog owners to work with them to stop future incidents.
DEFRA, the Communication Workers Union and charities such as the Dogs Trust and the Blue Cross are supporting the campaign.
Tom O'Kane, Royal Mail's director of safety, said: "For the first time, we are holding a Dog Awareness Week to raise awareness of the problems our postmen and women face daily when they are delivering the mail. Last year across the country the number of dog attacks on our people fell. However, there were still 133 incidents in Kent and we need to reduce this number further as even one dog attack on our people is one dog attack too many.
"Clearly most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened. Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service to our customers."
Royal Mail said the number of dog attacks increase during the school holidays when parents and children are at home and dogs are not supervised in the garden.
Since April 2011 there have been over 5,500 attacks on postmen and women across the UK, some resulting in permanent disabling injuries.
Dave Joyce, a CWU health, safety and environment officer said: "Dog Awareness Week is an important initiative to raise the profile of dog attacks and the risk that family pets and security dogs can pose to postal workers carrying out their everyday duties."
Lynn Barber, head of training and behaviour a the Dogs Trust said: "We fully support the Royal Mail's Dog Awareness week and hope that it raises awareness amongs dog owners about taking that little bit of extra time to train and help their dog for when the postman knocks on the door."
*Activities taking place during Dog Awareness Week
* Lord De Mauley, Parlimentary Under Secretary at DEFRA will become a postman for the day when he goes out on a delivery round with a postman in London who has previously been a victim of a dog attack.
* Royal Mail postmen and women speak about their own experiences of dog attacks
* Dog Awareness posters in partnership with Dogs Trust, will be in place in all Royal Mail enquiry office's giving dog owners tips on how they can help
* Dogs Trust and Wood Green will be holding question and answer sessions on their Facebook pages
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