An Ipswich woman who bit a dog owner on the arm during an argument about him not clearing up after his pet has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Imaan Mohamed confronted the neighbour in a communal garden near her flat in Austin Street and after speaking to him about his failure to remove his dog’s mess she had picked up some plant pots and then punched him in the face, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

The victim had pushed Mohamed over and she had then bitten him on the arm.

She later claimed the mark on his arm was a dog bite and not a human one.

Mohamed, 49, of Austin Street, Ipswich, admitted an offence assault causing actual bodily harm which took place in August 2019.

The court heard that she has 47 previous convictions.

Sentencing Mohamed to a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years, Judge Martyn Levett described the bite mark as “a very nasty injury” and said that an impression of the entirety of her upper jaw had been left on the victim’s arm.

“You have an unhealthy entrenched view that by biting someone you are going to solve the problem.

“I take the view that using teeth is the equivalent to using a weapon,” said the judge.

He said Mohamed believed there was a vendetta against her by other residents of the flats.

In addition to the suspended sentence Mohamed was made the subject of a restraining order banning her from contacting the victim for three years.

She was also given a 50-day rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered to take part in a Thinking Skills programme.

The court heard that as a result of the bite the victim was put on a course of antibiotics and had a tetanus injection.

He also had blood tests but was too scared to get the results in case he had caught an infection.

Adam Norris, for Mohamed, said his client had significant mental health issues and had bitten the man on the arm while she was on the ground after he pushed her over.

“It was an instinctive, although unpleasant, use of force,” he added.