A DOG owner allowed his pack of extremely large husky-sized dogs to stray repeatedly into the grounds of a children's nursery school, York magistrates heard.

In a separate incident, three of Lloyd Hunter’s Alaskan Malamutes bit another man’s Cockapoo four times before they could be pulled off it, said Victoria Waudby, prosecuting on behalf of City of York Council.

He did not microchip and register his dogs properly despite repeated reminders and warnings from the council that he had to do so by law.

The court heard that Hunter then claimed he had used petchipregistry.co.uk also known as uk-petchipregistry.info/, but that was not an authorised database and had been reported to DEFRA.

Hunter, 37, of Boroughbridge Road, York, did not attend court to answer charges of failing to keep his dogs under control, failure to prevent them straying from his land, two charges of not microchipping dogs and one of passing an unchipped dog onto another owner.

He was convicted in his absence on all charges, fined £1,790 and ordered to pay £1,334 prosecution costs and a £66 statutory surcharge.

Mrs Waudby told magistrates Hunter had four Malamutes which are an “extremely large breed of dog”.

As well as frequently getting into the grounds of the nursery school next door to Hunter’s house over several months they also got into nearly residential gardens and on one occasion, a straying Malamute crossed the A1237 Outer Ring Road.

On May 31, Hunter was walking three of the dogs on Millennium Green off Water End when they surrounded and attacked a Cockapoo being taken for a walk by its owner.

The smaller dog needed regular treatment by a vet for days following the incident.

Hunter told council officers he hadn’t known that the cockapoo was injured and said he would take measures to prevent his dogs straying.

Cllr Denise Craghill, is City of York Council's executive member for safer neighbourhoods.

Speaking after the case, Cllr Craghill said: “Responsible dog owners ensure that their animals are kept under control when out in public and properly secured when at home.”

The council said owners looking for legitimate dog registries should look here: https://www.gov.uk/get-your-dog-microchipped.