The owner of a dog that mauled a deer in Richmond Park has been fined £650 for failing to keep her pet under control.

Daragh Lehane, 54, of Pentney Road, Balham, pleaded guilty, via a letter addressed to Richmond Magistrates’ Court on Friday, September 2, accepting responsibility for permitting her animal to injure another animal in a royal park.

The court heard how Lehane’s five-year-old golden Staffordshire cross had been let off her lead on Sunday, May 22, and, despite having no history of being violent, had given chase to one of the park’s iconic stags.

Lehane said she usually walks the dog on Tooting Bec Common and had never had any problems before.

Roz Wardell, prosecuting, said: “The defendant was walking her dog ... took off the lead and it saw a stag in the ferns and gave chase.

“[The deer was] chased by the dog and hit by a passing car.

“A witness saw the stag being chased by the dog and saw the dog bite the antler off and cause wounds to the head of the deer. It made him feel physically sick.”

The stag, which was thought to be aged between eight and 10 years old and had a market value of £7,000, had to be shot at the scene after the traumatic chase, road accident and subsequent attack while laying injured in the road.

Ms Wardell said: “This [the shooting] was done at the scene which was very upsetting for the witnesses concerned.”

Lehane, who had a fine of £1,000 reduced to £650 due to her guilty plea, has also been ordered to pay £468 in compensation to the Royal Parks Agency to cover the cost of shooting and disposing of the body.

In her letter to the court, she wrote: “As I am obviously the owner of the dog it is my responsibility to keep her under control at all times. [I have] owned her for five years [and she has] never behaved this way.

“It was the first time I had walked her in Richmond Park and, although I knew the park had deer, I did not perceive to have any problems.

“I’m very sorry this incident happened and will not be walking her henceforth in Richmond Park.”