Golfer bitten by dog wins token payout in court

A professional golfer was awarded £4,900 yesterday after claiming that his sporting career was ruined when a dog bit his little finger.

A High Court judge said he was "not persuaded" that the injury had any significant effect on Andrew Raitt, who believed he had the potential to become a Ryder Cup player.

Mr Raitt, 33, had claimed £6m in damages from the owner of the dog after the incident at St George's Hill Golf Club, in Weybridge, Surrey, in June 1995. The claim was based on the golfer's projected loss of future earnings, but yesterday's award will be swallowed up in costs.

Mr Raitt was at the golf club with his dog when the animal was attacked by an Alsatian named Zomba. When he intervened, Zomba bit his left little finger, leaving it shorter by half a centimetre and lacking in sensation.

Mr Raitt, of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, told the judge his golf had since got steadily worse. But Judge Sir Ian Kennedy said: "There is no evidence to lead me to believe that his career would have followed a different path."