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The boss of Signature Living was bitten by a dog after an altercation with a pensioner protecting a derelict site potentially set for development.
Lawrence Kenwright, whose company operates five hotels including the Shankly Hotel in Liverpool, was visiting the abandoned Denbigh Asylum in North Wales which he plans to turn into a themed hotel.
However an altercation occurred which resulted in Kenwright being bitten on the hand by an Alsatian owned by 81-year-old Elwyn Pierce following a dispute about the developer’s right to be on the property.
In a video posted on Signature Living’s Vimeo page its shows Pierce letting out the dog from the back of his 4×4 which then appears to lunge towards Kenwright’s stomach before biting his hand.
A spokesman for Denbighshire council – which is yet to enforce a compulsory purchase order to take control of the site – said it is not for the council to grant permission for people to go on there as it is still in the private ownership of Freemont (Denbigh) Ltd.
The spokesman said anyone who gains access to the site without permission would be deemed to be trespassing.
Commenting on the incident, Kenwright told local media: “We have had permission to go on the site in the past. We did not think it would be a problem. I’m not going to sign up for the building unless I can see what the damage is.
“I knew about the guy but was told he was not employed there any more. Under no provocation at all, with my arm round him, talking nicely to him, he gets the dog out, it bites me in the stomach and then on the hand. I didn’t back off because I thought he’s not going to set the dog on me.
“I don’t want the dog to be put down. It’s not the dog’s fault.”
Pierce, who has held the keys to the site since it closed in 1995 said he has had to deter many vandals and trespassers from the land. He is reported to have said he felt “intimidated” by the four men on the property and the incident “is a sheer waste of police time”.
A North Wales Police spokesman said: “We received a call at 11.12am on Wednesday. An individual made an allegation that a dog at the site had bitten him.”
