THE number of dog attacks on people in Croydon has doubled in the past year.

There were 39 incidents reported to police between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010.

This compared to just 18 cases over the previous 12 months.

While there were 39 attacks last year, only eight people faced police action for offences covered under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

The law deals with owners of out-of-control dogs and prohibits people from owning certain types of banned breeds.

The statistics were revealed in response to a Freedom of Information request made after the Advertiser received a string of complaints about dangerous dogs in Croydon.

Mum-of-two Karen McGilloway, who was bitten by a Staffordshire bull terrier as she jogged around Upper Norwood Recreation Ground in April, is not surprised by the increase in attacks.

But she questions whether – with so few people facing police action – the attacks are being taken seriously.

She said: "It's not that every dog is bad but a lot of them are being handled by younger people and being used for things they shouldn't be. You would like to know and trust that any complaints are going to be followed up and action taken."

The Croydon ward which had the most dog attacks last financial year was Fairfield, where there were six incidents.

This is compared to no reported incidents the year before.

Only Selsdon and Ballards, Thornton Heath and Kenley escaped with no dog attacks in 2009/2010.

Of the eight people who faced police action over their dogs, five were cautioned, one faced a court summons and two were formally charged by police.

Steve O'Connell, Croydon Council's cabinet member for community safety, believes dog attacks on people are becoming an "emerging trend".

But he insists the police and council are taking the issue seriously and working together to tackle the problem.

He said: "The Metropolitan Police has set up a specialist dog unit and as a council we are clearly looking at more control of dogs in public spaces through the introduction of dog control orders.

"I think these will cause a downward trend on incidents."

Dog control orders would allow the council to make some parks off limits for dogs, while neighbourhood enforcement officers would be able to issue fines to owners who fail to keep their pets on a lead where they should or to clear up after their animal.

A police spokesman explained the Met has a dedicated Status Dog Unit, which is able to seize dangerous dogs.

She added that on a local level safer neighbourhood teams have been working on tackling problems with dogs.