A Greenwich woman accused of allowing her dog to attack a horse has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

Elena Butterfield, 27, a voluntary worker of Willerby Road, was charged with being unable to control her dog in a public place.

Her four-year-old white Staffordshire terrier French bulldog cross, Louis, attacked a police horse in Greenwich Park on January 22 leaving it with several puncture wounds.

A police officer and a horse trainer who were at the scene claimed the dog was out of control and a danger to the horses and themselves.

However, Maureen Anderson, the magistrate who chaired the case, said: "We believe under the circumstances you did as much as you could and we find the dog was not dangerously out of control. 

"We are satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a case has not been made and you are not guilty."

Alastair Blamire, a horse trainer who was riding Quixote, the horse attacked by the dog at the time of the incident, first became aware of the dog when he saw it running towards him barking at around 10.50am.

The dog then jumped up at the two horses, triggering Quixote to kick the him in the head and send him somersaulting through the air.

Ms Butterfield said: "I tried to grab him but I didn't want to get my head kicked by one of the horses, it was a really close call, it could have been my head.

"If the police officers had concentrated on controlling the dog and not shouting at me then the incident might have been avoided.

"Throughout the incident they were bawling at me, woman, control your dog."

Ms Butterfield also said she believed Louis had just become excited because he had never seen a horse before.

She added: "I've never even heard him bark before.

"He loves people, we get the train a lot from London to Kent and people love cuddling him.

"He's so charismatic that he helps people come out of their shell."

David Wilson, a mobile repair technician working near the park, managed to restrain the dog by rugby tackling it to the ground while the horses were moved away.

When asked about whether the dog was dangerous, Mr Wilson said: "No, not to me anyway, I carried it home like a baby and it barely made a sound."

PC Andrew Hill of the mounted branch at Lewisham Police, who was present at the scene, said: "I had to raise my voice to try and get Ms Butterfield to restrain the dog.

"I've been attacked by a dog while on a horse before and that resulted in some nasty injuries, so I was trying to make sure that didn't happen again."

The incident had a serious effect on Ms Butterfield, and she even contemplated taking her own life as a result of the media coverage.

She said: "I felt like I had no way out, how could I defend myself in front of police officers.

"I really just thought I wanted to throw myself off a train."