Dog owners with Romford postcodes are being asked to keep their pets under control after 18 postal workers were attacked in the last year on record.

The Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union is calling on people in the RM postcode to watch their dogs when the postman calls during the school holidays.

The number of attacks in the area – which normally peak during the school holidays – have actually gone down by 18pc since 2010, but the organisations want to reduce them further.

The RM postcode includes all of Havering, as well as parts of Thurrock, Barking and Dagenham, Navestock and Epping Forest.

Michael Shakeshift, Royal Mail’s director of safety in the East, said: “Clearly most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened.

“We would like to express our thanks to our customers in the RM postcode area for working with us to help reduce the number of attacks by 18 per cent since 2010, now we want to reduce this number further as there are still too many attacks taking place.”

Tips to prevent attacks include keeping dogs inside at the time the post normally arrives and installing a cage if your animal is prone to attacking the mail.

The Royal Mail has spent �100,000 on awareness campaigns.