A court heard the driver was set upon by three large dogs as she dropped off a parcel and suffered serious injuries to her hand, waist and hips
Swansea Crown Court(Image: Media Wales)
A delivery driver was seriously injured when she was set upon by three large dogs as she dropped off a parcel, a court has heard. One of the dogs ripped into the woman’s hand causing significant tendon damage while the other two bit her around the waist and hips.
Swansea Crown Court heard the driver required surgery to her injured hand and the incident has significantly impacted her ability to work. A judge said “the long and short of it” was the incident was foreseeable and there was inadequate protection for visitors to the defendant’s property.
Harry Dickens, prosecuting, told the court the incident happened on October 24, 2023, when the complainant, a Yodel driver, delivered a parcel to Hopkins’ rural property near Whitland in Carmarthenshire.
He said the driver did not see any signs warning about dogs on the fencing nor hear any barking at the address and let herself in through the gate.
The court heard that as the woman got to the house three large Carpathian mountain dogs suddenly appeared and began biting her – while two bit the woman to the waist and hip area, the third sank its teeth into her left hand and ripped away the skin and exposing the bones and tendons beneath. For the latest court stories sign up to our crime newsletter
The prosecutor said the bleeding driver ran back down the path to her van, and once there sounded the vehicle’s horn and rang Hopkins.
When the defendant came to the door of the house “around 20 dogs” ran out from inside the property. The court heard Hopkins told the driver: “People know not to come in”.
The prosecutor said the injured driver went to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen where she underwent surgery on her hand. She spent two days in hospital but had to return in the December for a further operation after complications developed.
In her police interview Hopkins said she believed there were adequate measures in place including a box for deliveries to be left in. She said no other delivery drivers had had issues.
In an impact statement read to the court by the prosecutor, the victim said she had been working on a self-employed basis for Yodel but the hand injury meant she could not drive, and the loss of employment had led to a “massive” loss of income.
She said she had run a cattle and sheep farm on her own for some 26 years but the injury meant she had to take on part-time workers and contractors to help her, something which had hit the viability of the farm.
The woman said following the incident she had to undergo months of painful physio and had to learn how to open and close her hand again.
The victim, who was in court, was invited by the judge to approach the bench so he could see for himself the scar on her hand and the mobility she has.
The court heard that while the incident happened in October 2023 and the defendant was interviewed in the December of that year she was not charged until April 2025.
The court also heard that the three dogs in question were not removed by the police but were allowed to remain in the charge of the defendant, though one of the trio has died in the intervening years.
Jennifer Hopkins, 55, of Blaenwaun, Whitland, Carmarthenshire, had previously pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and which caused in jury when she appeared in the dock for sentencing. She has no previous convictions.
David Singh, for Hopkins, said the defendant had bought the rural property several months before the incident and was running an “animal sanctuary” on a charitable basis which currently houses some 29 dogs.
He said at the time of the offending there had been measures in place including fencing, warning signs, and a box for deliveries but said it had to be accepted they had been insufficient on this occasion. He said the security measures at the compound have since been increased, including permanent fencing and a locked gate.
The barrister said the defendant worked from home for the Scottish Government as a self-employed contractor working on rural broadband provision.
Judge Huw Rees said he had no doubt Hopkins showed kindness to animals but said “the long and short of it” was that the incident was foreseeable and there had been inadequate protection for visitors to the property. He said the delivery driver had just been going about her normal everyday business and had done absolutely nothing wrong, and he described what happened to her as “shocking in the extreme”.
The judge said the delay in the case being prosecuted was “inexcusable” and asked rhetorically: “What is going on in Dyfed-Powys Police?”
With a one-quarter discount for her guilty plea Hopkins was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work in the community. The judge ordered the defendant to pay the victim £10,000 in criminal compensation.
The court heard civil compensation proceedings are currently being dealt with the by the defendant’s insurers.
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