Grantham's mid-Lent fair brings trauma back to Toby

The town’s mid-Lent fair is as traditional as Grantham gingerbread, but for this poor boy this time of year must still bring back the terror he endured as a 13-year-old when he was attacked by an Alsatian dog, that he said belonged to workers on the fair.

Toby claimed in the Journal, in 1994, that the dog came running over a car park and jumped up at him, badly ripping his shirt.

Toby and his pal’s only route of escape from the wild, probably rabid, creature was to climb a wall.

Toby told the Journal at the time: “It definitely came from the fair. I could not tell what mood it was in.

"It was not barking. It would not let us get off the wall.”

The chairman of the fair’s Showmans’ Guild said he knew nothing of the incident and queried whether Toby had tormented the poor dog.

Toby said that he would not go be going to the fair that year because of the incident.

We can reveal, however, that since Toby was employed as a photographer with the Journal, and subsequently as our freelance, he has been in attendance, if only to capture the intoxicating atmosphere and fun through his lens – as long as there are no dogs about . . .

Ironically, Toby’s family dog at home in Colsterworth was an Alsatian called Bracken, with whom he was pictured.