text: Evicted: Hayley Sandiford has been told that postman terroriser Winston must leave her home this month or she will lose her house . A dog has been evicted from social housing for terrorising  postmen - meaning neighbours can have their mail delivered for the first time since February 2014. Mother-of-two Hayley Sandiford has been told she must get rid of her seven-stone American bulldog Winston by the end of April or she will also have to leave her house in Blackburn, Lancashire. The pet has attacked several terrified postmen but Miss Sandiford says Royal Mail are victimising Winston and claims her family are being 'taunted all the time' by people in the area. Angry neighbours have even left notes on her front door saying 'keep your devil dog away', she says. One postman on his rounds reported Winston bounded 100 yards up the street towards him before clamping his powerful teeth around his mailbag. The victim had to cower behind a tree and throw his one remaining letter to distract the animal before diving behind a gate and alerting a colleague to take cover. A second postmen reported being being bitten on the arm and had to kick Winston in the head twice to fend him off. Winston's attacks have led to a 14 month ban on all postal deliveries to 60 homes in his neighbourhood. Residents living on two surrounding roads  have been making make a four-and-a-half mile round trips, sometimes by taxi, to collect their mail. Twin Valley Homes housing association has now taken Miss Sandiford, 30, to court and she must find a new home for the dog by 4pm on April 30 or her tenancy is at risk. Obsessed: Miss Sandiford admits her American bulldog has 'a thing' for chewing up mail - but unfortunately this has led to him also attacking postal staff . Legal battle: A housing association has decided to end a ban on postal deliveries to the area of Blackburn by demanding that Winston is evicted . The ruling at Preston County Court means the post to the area is due to resume on May 1. Today Miss Sandiford, who has asked a friend to take in Winston, said: 'I feel sick and gutted to be losing Winston. Winston had been brilliant and I have done everything they asked me to do but they're still making a big deal out of it. Court case: Miss Sandiford outside court last year after Winston was threatened with destruction for attacking a postie . 'I have had things stuck on my door saying keep my 'devil dog' away. I don't even like going out anymore I'm not the same kind of person. My kids have been affected at school through it because people would say stuff and my son gets into trouble because of that. We are being taunted all the time. 'Winston is one of the nicest dogs. He is not a danger - I wouldn't have him near my kids. 'Unfortunately he does have a thing about postmen but it is the mail they carry and not the postmen themselves. I don't get much post only bills and a lot of junk mail and he loves ripping them up. He doesn't touch the kids toys he'd rather play with the leaflets that come through the door. 'Winston did jump up at the postman - but he is a very bouncy playful little thing and he forgets how big he is - although I accept it must have been scary for the postman.' Winston's first trouble came in February last year after it bit an unnamed postman on the arm whilst being taken for a walk by his owner's nine-year-old son. The postman suffered a bite wound which broke his skin and he underwent medical treatment in hospital. Although postal deliveries were suspended no action was initially taken against the animal but at 10am on July 9 the 'thick set and stocky built' dog bounded up to postman Paul Warnock whilst he was on his rounds. Mr Warnock who had only delivered to only a handful of houses later told a court hearing: 'Straight away I was worried because it was quite a big dog. As soon as it spotted me it came running towards me fast, at speed. 'Then it was showing it's teeth and growling at me. It was coming at me aggressively, I was frightened. I was backing off then all of a sudden it went for me it grabbed the bundle of mail. It was in the middle of the street because I was backing off so much.' Mr Warnock ran behind a tree for cover and added: 'When I got behind the tree I saw a gate, I thought if I can get inside the gate it's safe. I was left with one letter. It was still going for me. I had one piece on mail, I threw it to take it's eye off me and ran behind the gate. It would have attacked me in the street.' Keen: Winston once ran 100 yards to get to a post bag and the postman only managed to dive into a garden because he tossed a letter into the middle of the road . 'When I got behind the gate the dog was roaming the street. I saw my colleague further up the street coming down, he heard the commotion. I shouted "Get back get back, dog loose on the street!".' His colleague took cover behind a gate and watched Miss Sandiford get hold of the dog. Last October Miss Sandiford pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and was handed a six month community order with a six month supervision requirement. She was also told that whenever is taken out for walks, he must be muzzled and kept on a harness with two dog leads and has to be accompanied by a person over the age of 16. Miss Sandiford was also ordered to keep her home securely fenced, but now it appears she must part with Winston to keep her home. David King, one of Miss Sadiford's neighbours said: 'It's brilliant news if they are going to start up the deliveries again. We've waited a long time to get the mail back. My wife is disabled and having to go down to the depot every time we get a letter is hugely frustrating. It's also frustrating that it has taken so long for this to be sorted. Trevor Smith said: 'The Royal Mail could have handled this a lot better and sorted it sooner. I can't understand why they stopped delivering to so many houses anyway. I'm not happy about it. I'll believe the deliveries are restarting when I see it.' Ian Bell, head of Twin Valley Homes, said: 'We're delighted to get this result. The people in the area have suffered due to a lack of a postal service and being in fear of this dog for too long, but now they can see an end in sight. The Royal Mail confirmed a health and safety assessment had been carried out on Miss Sandiford's neighbourhood which highlighted an 'unacceptable level of risk associated with deliveries.' A spokesman said 'Suspending deliveries is a last resort but we take the health and safety of our employees very seriously. We apologise to all affected customers and we are pleased with this outcome.'
target: Court rules American bulldog Winston must leave his home this month .
  Pet's attacks led to 14-month ban on  deliveries on two Blackburn roads .
  His owner Hayley Sandiford claims Winston is 'not a danger' to anyone .
  'Unfortunately he does have a thing about postmen but it is the mail they carry and not the postmen themselves', she said .
  Winston's eviction means that postal deliveries will resume on May 1 .