A dog owner has been handed a court order to keep his animal under control.

Paul Andrew Jopson admitted the offence, which is a civil matter rather than a criminal one.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told magistrates that, on September 6, a woman was outside her address on Horseshoe Avenue in Douglas with her dog.

She said that Jopson’s border terrier was unsupervised and bit her dog on the rear left side.

When interviewed about the matter later, Jopson told police he had been collecting items from his vehicle but hadn’t closed the doors, so his dog had escaped.

The 53-year-old defendant said that he never walked his terrier without a lead as she had issues with other animals.

Jopson, who lives at Willowbrook Gardens, Douglas, said that he had offered to pay the vet bill for the woman’s dog.

Defence advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge said that her client had since put in place a number of measures to ensure his dog never escaped again.

He was said to have fenced his property with chicken wire and an electric fence, making it more secure, and there were also now two doors that his dog had to get through.

Magistrates made the order that the dog be under control at all times.

Any breaches of the order could result in further action.