Phuket’s dog problem could be worse

LONDON: A drunk who claimed he had been raped by a dog was yesterday [4 Sept 01] jailed for 12 months. Martin Hoyle, 45, was arrested by police after a passing motorist and his girlfriend found a Staffordshire bull terrier, called Badger, shagging him at the side of a road in Highgate, North London. Prosecutor Ben Crosland said the couple had stopped to help because they thought Hoyle was being attacked by the animal. But when they got closer they saw that he had his trousers round his ankles, and was down on all fours with the dog straddling him from behind. “The defendant mumbled something about the dog having taken a liking to him,” said Mr Crosland. “The couple were extremely offended and sickened by what they saw.” Another passing motorist contacted the police and Hoyle was arrested as he walked down the road with the dog. Hoyle, of Finchley Road, Highgate, told police: “I can’t help it if the dog took a liking to me. He tried to rape me!” He repeated the rape allegation at the police station and added, “The dog pulled my trousers down.” Hoyle, who has had a long-standing alcohol problem, was jailed for 12 months after he admitted committing an act which outraged public decency. His barrister said Hoyle had no memory of the incident because of his drunken state, but was now very remorseful and “incredibly embarrassed”. Jailing him, Judge Alistair McCallum told Hoyle: “Never before in my time at the bar or on the bench have I ever had to deal with somebody who voluntarily allowed himself to be buggered by a dog on a public highway. Frankly it is beyond our comprehension and an absolutely disgusting thing for members of the public to have had to witness.”