A PITBULL-type dog called Caesar escaped its overladen owner at the door of her home and attacked a passer-by who was walking his Jack Russell.

The dog, which had been threatened with destruction over a previous incident in 2012, has now been seized by police and destroyed after biting Michael Tucker, in Dydale Road.

Barbara Bird had been ordered to keep Caesar muzzled at all times, but while carrying her young grandson and bags of shopping on February 26, lost control of the animal, which bounded in pursuit of Mr Tucker's Jack Russell, called Daisy.

"All of a sudden he hears a dog snarling and growling, and hears a female voice screaming the name 'Caesar'," said Keith Ballinger, prosecuting.

"He feels a massive jolt to his leg and is knocked over onto his back. He could still hear the dog snarling and growling at his own dog.

"He managed to pull himself up onto the railings, at which point he realised he had been bitten on the right leg when he felt blood trickling down. He did not feel the bite immediately because he has a trapped nerve.

"He said a female came towards him who said she had to get a hold of the dog, which is described as a brown pitbull-type terrier.

"He says the lady grabbed hold of this dog and dragged it back to a house nearby.

"She came back to make sure he was okay and helped him in to her address. The dog had been put in another room, and he could feel the blood trickling down and onto the carpet."

Swindon Magistrates' Court heard today how Mr Tucker was treated in hospital and is now too nervous to return to Dydale Road.

"Officers attended Mrs Bird's address and carried out checks, and found there was an exemption register on the dog called Caesar and a contingent destruction order dating from February 2012, so they seized the dog from the property," added Mr Ballinger.

"When interviewed she said she had the dog since it was five weeks old and didn't know it was a pitbull-type at the time, otherwise she probably wouldn't have got it.

"She said at the time of the offence she had been carrying her nine-month-old grandson and had a bag under the other arm. Opening the door to the house the dog jumped up and ran off. She saw a man going flying to the floor and tried to help the man who was injured as best she could.

"She accepts the previous order had been breached because one condition was for it to be muzzled in a public place.

"The dog has subsequently been destroyed."

Bird, 45, representing herself, admitted one count of allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control causing injury.

She said: "I just tried all I could to stop the incident but it just got out of control. I have had the dog put down."

Chairman of the bench, Margaret Penfold, imposed a community order of 12 months with 80 hours of unpaid work.

"There are some features which make this a fairly serious case," she said.

"We think that the most suitable sentence for this is to do some unpaid work in the community."

Bird was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to Mr Tucker, £85 court costs and a £60 victim surcharge.