Love Island star Jack Fincham jailed after out of control dog bites runner
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog
Love Island winner Jack Fincham has been jailed for six weeks after his black Cane Corso dog Elvis bit a runner.
The 32-year-old, who won the 2018 series of the ITV2 show with Dani Dyer, gave a thumbs up as he was led to the cells at Southend Magistrates’ Court.
His partner and The Only Way is Essex star Chlore Brockett wept from the gallery.
Fincham, of Swanley in Kent, pleaded guilty to two counts of being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog, with one of the incidents causing injury.
Fincham’s dog bit a runner, a man called Robert Sudell, in September 2022 in Swanley in Kent, according to prosecutor Erin Peck.
Along with jail time, Fincham will be forced to pay a fine and compensation. They will be paid in instalments, with the television star having “no savings”, according to his lawyer.
Before winning the popular dating dating show on ITV, Fincham worked as a pen salesman and has appeared on The Only Way is Essex with Brockett.
In November, Brockett said she had briefly split up with Fincham because she could no longer carry “the weight of a 32-year-old who refuses to pay any bills”.
Ms Peck said Mr Sudell had accepted an apology and Fincham was going to be cautioned and engage with a responsible dog ownership course.
In June last year his dog was once again out of control during a second incident in Grays in Essex, despite conditions having already been imposed, including that Fincham’s dog be muzzled, Ms Peck said.
Presiding magistrate Anne Wade told the court: “The dog was in a public place not abiding by the conditions to be muzzled and kept on a lead.”
During the first incident in Kent, Ms Wade, sentencing, said Fincham was subject to a suspended sentence order at the time for an unrelated driving matter.
Ms Wade said this order would be activated in part, adding that “we find no reason not to do so”, and jailed Fincham for six weeks.
She ordered the dog to be muzzled in public places, kept on a lead and not be left alone with anyone under the age of 16.
Fincham is also obliged to pay £3,680 in total, including a £2,000 contribution to kennelling costs, a fine of £961 and £200 compensation to Mr Sudell.
Fincham’s lawyer, Richard Cooper, said the defendant “has no savings”.
Ms Wade said Fincham could pay in instalments, initially at £400 per month.
Ahead of the verdict, Fincham had been pictured at the luxury Champneys Spa in Hertfordshire.
Fincham had imported Elvis from Russia in 2021 and was met with backlash on social media after it appeared the dog had cropped ears, an illegal practice in the UK. Animal rights group Peta criticised Fincham.
Shortly after, the reality TV star posted a photo of him and Elvis on social media, writing: “My best friend in the whole world. Have a story to tell you very soon. Sometimes I think this country is done honestly.”
In March, Fincham was spared jail after speeding his BMW 520D, driving down the hard should of the A2 in Kent, while on cocaine.
He later admitted to drug driving and driving without due care and attention.
