A 24-year-old has been ordered to keep a muzzle on his Staffordshire bull terrier after it attacked a man in Norwich city centre.

Michael Mobbs' dog, named George, jumped up and bit a man outside the Arc in Pottergate on September 6 this year, leaving him with two marks on his right arm.

Norwich Magistrates' Court heard how the attack lasted a few seconds and stopped as soon as the defendant called the dog and pulled on its lead.

Prosecutor Jane Walker told the court on Tuesday: 'In a police interview he said he had been waiting for a friend when a man with a trolley made a fast sharp turn about a metre away and the dog nipped him.

'He [Mobbs] pulled on the lead and the dog came back down.

'He said he apologised to the victim.'

She said the incident took place at around 12.30pm and was reported to police.

A PCSO attended and Mobbs gave an account of what happened. Miss Walker said he was later arrested in the Riverside area of the city.

Debbie Reynolds, mitigating, said the incident only lasted a few seconds.

She added: 'The injured party said the dog jumped up and bit him on the right arm, and the injury was minimal.

'It did not break his skin, but it did leave two visible marks.'

She said that Mobbs owned two dogs and had no previous issues with them.

'He [Mobbs] does not know if it was the trolley that upset his dog and as soon as he tugged on the lead, the dog came down straight away.

'It was an out of the blue incident which had never happened before, and Mr Mobbs controlled the dog quickly.'

Mobbs, of no fixed abode, who appeared in court wearing a shirt and silver chain around his neck, was told to be quiet after speaking out of turn, claiming: 'He literally had a minor scratch.'

Following his arrest, Mobbs was released on bail and ordered to keep a muzzle on his dog in public places at all times. The court heard that he complied with the order.

Mobbs, who was on conditional discharge for a previous offence, pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control.

He was ordered to keep a muzzle on George at all times in a public place and fined £80.