Almost 40 postmen and women attacked by dogs in Derbyshire

The company said that the number of attacks, which took place in the 12 months to the end of April, represented a 58 per cent increase on the previous year.

Royal Mail has now launched Dog Awareness Week, which starts today and runs until Saturday.

Backed by unions and animal charities, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the issue of dog attacks and reduce the number of incidents by encouraging responsible dog ownership.

According to Royal Mail’s research, the number of attacks rises by more than a quarter during the school summer holidays and summer months.

Tony Fox, Royal Mail’s operations director for the East Midlands, said: “Dog Awareness Week continues to go from strength-to-strength, raising awareness of the problems of dog attacks and the problems our postmen and women face when they are delivering the mail.

“However, last year there were still too many incidents in the Derbyshire postcode area and we need to reduce this number further as even one dog attack on our people is one too many.

“We appeal to owners across the Derbyshire area to keep their pets under control.”

Nationally, dog attacks on postal workers have fallen by 10 per cent in the past year to just under 3,000.