A DOG owner was "mortified" when her Bullmastiff attacked a teenager as she held on by its lead, a court heard.

Joanna Adamkiewicz was landed with an £849 court bill after she admitted being in a charge of a dog dangerously out of control in Crewe.

Despite being on a fixed lead the dog, named Coco, lunged at Carla Hughes as she was out walking with her family on Wistaston Road on April 24 this year.

The 14-year-old suffered puncture marks to her right thigh as well as nerve damage and South Cheshire Magistrates' Court was told she is now "scared of big dogs".

Prosecutor Simon Leong said the victim was with her mother, father and younger sister when they spotted a large mixed breed dog ahead.

The dog, which was being held on a lead by the defendant, was on a grass verge when the family passed. But then it lunged at the husband before turning on the girl while barking and snarling, despite the efforts of Adamkiewicz to get it under control.

"The defendant tried to pull the dog away, but she wasn't strong enough to control it," said the prosecutor.

"The mother pushed Carla behind her and the defendant was trying to hold back the dog, but she fell to the floor although she didn't let go of the lead.

"Carla started crying and said the dog had bitten her. The defendant was still on the floor and was holding the dog by its collar, but it was still aggressive and was barking."

In a victim impact statement read to the court, the teenager said she still has a scar left from the attack and suffers numbness over a small area of her leg.

Adamkiewicz told police that the training lead she was using that day had "caution" imprinted on it. She said she hadn't seen the dog bite the girl and she felt it wasn't all the dog's fault as the girl had appeared from behind the animal.

She was shocked by the injuries and "couldn't understand why it had happened".

The court was told that Adamkiewicz, 36, of Stewart Street, Crewe had owned the dog for two years without any complaints about its behaviour previously.

Richard Thomas, for Adamkiewicz, said: "She is mortified by what happened. This is a one-off and the dog is not normally aggressive."

Cheshire Police did not seek a destruction order for Coco and the defendant was told she would have to ensure it was muzzled and on a lead in future when it was outside, while it must not be under the control of anyone under 16.

Magistrates fined Adamkiewicz £230 and ordered she pay £500 compensation to Carla Hughes as well as court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £34.