A SNP councillor was bitten by a dog and hospitalised after putting her hand through a letterbox in Saltcoats.

Jean McClung had been handing out calendars when the dog sunk its teeth into her hand when she put it through a constituents front door.

She needed medical treatment at A&E and had to cancel her surgeries as a result of the attack.

Now she wants pet owners to be aware of the risks and take bites more seriously.

Jean said: “What upsets me more than anything was the dog’s owner won’t take any responsibility for the dog's bite.

“I understand they certainly didn’t ask me to put my hand through the letterbox but what’s worrying is that they aren’t concerned that it could happen to anyone. I was told the scout group had been in the area, what if a child had put their hand through the door?

“The owners did not believe the fact that I had to go to hospital for this.

“People need to put their hands through letter boxes all the time, it is some people's jobs.

“At the hospital they explained it was very common and they see a lot of dog bites.

“It wasn’t just a little nip in my finger, it was quite a serious bite I had to go to hospital twice to have it treated. I don’t want to get anyone into trouble or anything bad to happen to anyone’s dog, but at the same time I would like people to be aware of the risks.

“It’s just not taken seriously enough, I’m on the side of public safety. I had to cancel my surgeries, I don’t like doing that.

“It’s the consequences, they did say at the hospital sepsis can lead to death if a kid got bitten or an elderly person it could be quite horrendous."