A woman’s windpipe was left exposed when she was attacked by a Staffy cross dog that tore a hole in her throat, a court heard.

The victim had called to visit Jodie Blezzard at her home in Halifax when she was “viciously attacked” by a dog named Cally, causing blood to pour out of her neck.

As she was dragged to the floor she banged her head and was knocked unconscious.

Her wounds were so severe that they exposed her windpipe and required surgery.

The result was described at Bradford Crown Court as “significant cosmetic disfigurement” that left her voice impaired and her throat susceptible to infection.

The dog was destroyed a month later.

Blezzard, a 36-year-old mother-of-six, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog following the incident at her home in Gladstone View, Siddal, Halifax, on November 10, 2022.

The court heard that she had four dogs, three of which were in the kitchen on the day of the incident, but that Cally, which had had a litter of pups, was allowed into the living room.

The attack happened when the victim, who had been outside briefly, came back into the house and a baby gate became dislodged.

Mrs Recorder Taryn Turner said: “Very unfortunately, and in circumstances that will remain unclear, Cally attacked [the victim].”

Blezzard had not seen the attack and, in an interview with police, said her animals were not dangerous. However she was “immediately remorseful” and apologised to the victim.

Blezzard’s dogs and pups were removed from her care, and she declared that she would not keep them in future.

The court heard that Blezzard had been spoken to in the past by various authorities about other dogs in her control, but that Cally had not been one of those animals.

Recorder Turner said: “You have a lot of children to look after, and it seems to me that if I were to impose an immediately effective custodial sentence today that would deprive them of their mother.

“You are truly apologetic and full of remorse for what befell [the victim] on that day when she popped in with a friend just for a chat.

“There is every reason to hope that something like this will never happen again because you don’t intend to keep dogs again.”

She handed Blezzard 16 months imprisonment suspended for two years plus 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and banned her from keeping dogs for life.