The Sunday Times has lashed out at Huddersfield following the tragic death of lollipop man David Ellam in a savage dog attack.
The national newspaper published the piece today calling for new dog laws in the aftermath of 52-year-old Mr Ellam’s death and that of a three-year-old boy in another attack in Essex on Thursday.
In the comment piece, journalist Tom Harper says: “The residents of Sheepridge in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, are used to violence.
“At night, car thieves and crack dealers are said to roam the streets.
“Earlier this month gunshots were heard across gardens strewn with abandoned furniture and disused football nets.
“Last Monday, however, a particularly horrific incident caused anguish in this normally stoical community.”
The piece goes on to detail the horrific attack which sadly claimed Mr Ellam’s life.
Barry Sheerman dismissed the piece as ‘the usual ill-informed nonsense’ from the Sunday Times.
The Huddersfield MP said: “It is an ingrained prejudice the Sunday Times shows all the time against the north of England.
“All these kinds of things are rife in several parts of London.
“Every town has a more deprived part of its community and Huddersfield is no different. But the crime rate in Huddersfield is lower than the national average.
“Whoever wrote this tawdry little piece has never been to Huddersfield.
“If they want to send a proper journalist to Huddersfield I will show them a proper, bustling university town.”
• A 29-year-old man was arrested and bailed after the attack on Mr Ellam last Monday. The case has been referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The animal had only been returned to its owner days before, having been seized by police over concerns that it was a banned breed.
