The savage mauling of a ten-year-old girl by her new XL Bully dog in North Yorkshire last week marks the sixth fatality since the ban on the dogs came into force on February 1.
Since February alone, police have been called to five other savage scenes including a widower being savaged while dog sitting and a grandmother mauled to death while protecting her grandson.
In one shocking incident, police only realised that 33-year-old Nicholas Glass had been killed by his dogs after neighbours reported a foul stench in the garden he died in.
The ban introduced by the last Conservative government stopped short of legislating the destruction of the killer dogs, instead forcing owners to register them and keep them muzzled in public places.
As a result, the volatile breed is still a mainstay in many family homes across the country with attacks occurring with alarming frequency.
Speaking to the , veterinary expert and owner of MyPetsVet, Dr Nick Horniman explained that whilst the bill hadn’t been a failure as it’s ‘stopped some people from dying’, more education was needed.
He said: ‘In their family home everyone relaxes because we’re on the sofa watching TV. We don’t mind the baby or the young child, because it’s only the dog, and that’s when things can happen.
‘These XL Bullies are different. They’re different animals completely. They’re just unpredictable. And when they bite, they bite.’
The desperate scenes in East Heslerton last Friday, in which the distraught child’s mother was seen screaming ‘my baby’s dead’ in the middle of the her sleepy estate were actually the sort the ban sought to avoid.
The schoolgirl – known locally as ‘Savannah’ and described as ‘beautiful and intelligent’ – died after being bitten by her family’s dog inside their home.
The family, who have not been named, live in a static caravan in a compound behind a shop premises in East Heslerton, North Yorkshire.
The girl’s father works as a mechanic there and she is the couple’s only child, said local residents.
North Yorkshire Police said the girl had a ‘close, loving relationship’ with the dog that went on to kill her. The force said the mutt would be put down.
Since February 1, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without a certificate.
To qualify for an exemption certificate, owners had to prove their XL bully was neutered by June 30.
If the pup was less than a year old by January 31, they must have been neutered by the end of 2024, and evidence must be provided.
As well as neutering their animals, XL bully owners seeking an exemption must also pay an application fee, hold active public liability insurance for their pets and ensure the dogs are microchipped.
People with dangerously out of control dogs can be jailed for 14 years and banned from owning animals, and their pets can be put down.
People at a nearby caravan site were alerted by the screams of the girl’s traumatised mother at around 4.15pm on Friday.
One local farmer, who asked not to be named, said: ‘The dog is an XL bully. It has been certified and is well looked after. It’s a very big dog. I’ve seen it around the pub a few times, it doesn’t bother anyone or other dogs and is well-behaved.’
Describing the incident, the farmer said: ‘The mother ran out from the static caravan screaming ‘my baby’s dead.’ Some people from the caravan site went over to help. She was obviously really distraught.
‘The police got here very fast, there were two helicopters, ambulances turned up and an armed response unit.
‘Someone put the dog in a car apparently.’
The farmer said the family lived in a static caravan behind the business where he worked as a mechanic.
‘They are really nice people. The girl is a really polite girl who always says please and thank you. She was a lovely little lass who you would see riding her bike around.’
A man who was in one of the nearby caravans was in a pub on the site when there was a massive emergency response.
‘The mother came out screaming about her ‘baby.’ It’s terrible. I have a son aged 11 of about the same age who knew her. I’ve not told him yet. She was a really beautiful little girl and very intelligent for her age.’
Commenting on the dog, he said: ‘It is a massive dog and looks like an XL bully but I don’t know the breed.’
Another villager who knows the family also confirmed the dog was an XL bully.
The killing of Savannah marks the sixth fatality this year since the ban on the dogs came into force on February 1.
Nicholas Glass – mauled to death in garden
In August, Nicholas Glass, 33, was found dead in a Birmingham back garden were banned XL Bullies, police have revealed.
Officers were called to Hereford Close in Rubery, West Mids, in the early hours of August 21 after receiving reports of dogs on the loose – and an awful smell coming from one garden.
A post mortem has since revealed that Glass died from injuries ‘consistent with having been bitten by a dog’.
All four dogs have now been seized by police – with two being found at the house and the remaining pair hunted down two days later by cops.
Tests have now concluded that two of the dogs were XL Bullies, which are banned a breed. Neither have a certificate of exemption.
His heartbroken family paid tribute to an ‘adored’ man, who would ‘do anything for anyone.’
They said: ‘In Nicholas we’ve lost a loving son, brother and uncle who was adored by all of his family and friends.
‘He was kind hearted, caring and compassionate and he’d do anything for anyone. We are devastated at his loss and we all miss him desperately.’
Neighbours said the dog owner lived in the property with three Cane Corso dogs, which resemble American Bulldogs.
Bloody marks were visible on a downstairs garden window of the address in the days after the attack.
Neighbour Charlene Newman, 40, told the Mail she had called the police after smelling a foul stench coming from the garden.
She said: ‘It was a really bad smell. Like something rotting and it was coming from the bottom of the hedge in the back garden. I didn’t see a body but then the police came and put up a tent while they recovered it.’
Another resident, who gave his name only as Shane, said no-one had heard any shouting or barking at the house.
‘We just don’t know what happened but you can see bloody scratches on the window frame at the back of the house,’ he said.
David Daintree – mauled to death while dogsitting
In August, widower David Daintree was mauled to death by an XL Bully dog his family said he was looking after for a friend.
Specialist officers shot the animal dead after the horror attack on David Daintree, 53, at his home on Tuesday evening.
Mr Daintree’s daughter, Joanne Trezise, posted a tribute on Facebook saying: ‘Sleep tight daddy Dave. Love you.’
She insisted her father didn’t own the dog but had simply offered to look after it for a friend temporarily.
‘He was the sort of person that couldn’t say no to anything,’ she said.
‘He had the biggest heart of gold and because he was on his own missing his late wife he wanted some company.’
According to social media, Mr Daintree’s wife, Sharon, passed away in July 2021.
Ambulance crews and police were called to Mr Daintree’s home in Accrington, Lancashire shortly before 9.30pm but he had already died from his injuries.
Lancashire police said that because the dog was continuing to pose ‘a significant threat of serious harm’ officers were left with no alternative but to shoot the animal.
Lancashire Police said officers were left with no choice but to shoot the animal with a firearm as it posed ‘a significant threat of serious harm’.
Nicole Morey – savaged by pack of dogs in her home
In June, a rabid XL Bully that killed its owner on her 23rd birthday had to be shot four times as police tried to stop it attacking its victim.
Nicole Morey, who reportedly owned four dogs, hady posted on Facebook to say her XL Bully was ‘freaking out’ and got ‘too excited’ before going on walks.
Ms Morey was savaged by her pet before another of her dogs – believed to be a Staffordshire Bull Terrier – ‘joined in’, a source told Sunday World.
The attack happened near her house in Ballyneety, Co. Limerick, where members of the Regional Armed Support Unit said they encountered ‘a number of aggressive dogs’.
Gardai said one of the raging animals had to be put down while the rest were seized.
Ms Morey was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was taken to University Hospital Limerick for a post-mortem.
The young woman, who had been celebrating her 23rd birthday previously shared pictures smiling alongside two of her pets. It is not clear if the animals were the ones involved in the attack.
She also said in a post on a dog training tips page in February: ‘When I go to put my xl on the lead for walks he’s freaking out running to the door out of excitement but nearly too excited for us to even get the lead and collar on him.’
XL Bullies are not banned in Ireland, but are subject to restrictions such as mandatory muzzles when in public, as in the UK.
The dog involved in the incident was put down and several others have been seized by the dog warden.
An anonymous source told Sunday World: ‘It was an XL Bully in a room with the girl and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. There were two large dogs in another room.
‘They attacked the girl and she ran out the front door. Someone could see it happening on a camera – possibly a door bell camera.
‘She was (attacked) by the XL Bully, then the Staffordshire joined in.
‘An armed detective arrived, the dog was at the top of the stairs, he had to put four bullets into the dog to stop the dog.’
Angela Mahal – killed by two registered XL Bullies in her home
In May, two ‘devastated’ sons of a woman who was mauled to death by her XL Bullies found their mother fighting for her life when they dropped in to check on her.
Angeline Mahal, 50, was attacked at her home in Hornchurch, east London, with armed police bearing riot shields called to deal with the animals.
She was found lying on the floor of the hallway by her two sons, who tried CPR and called an ambulance. It is feared she may have been dead for several hours already.
They were paying her one of their regular visits to check in on their mother and were seen outside the home looking distraught, with one in floods in tears.
The Met Police confirmed that two registered XL Bully dogs had been seized and taken away from the house.
One neighbour told the two sons stood outside the home as paramedics battled to save Ms Mahal’s life.
They said: ‘The medics were working on her on the front driveway by the front door.
‘One of the sons was in tears but you could see they were both devastated. The woman lives on her own with the dogs but her sons come round and visit her regularly.
‘I’ve never seen the dogs being walked. I’ve not really seen them in the garden either. I hear them quite a bit in the house, they sometimes bark at night.
‘The woman who died has been renting the house for about two to three years.’
Photographs taken by revealed a sign in one of the front windows at the home, which reads: ‘Never mind the dog, beware of the kids’.
Esther Martin – killed by two XL Bullies while her protecting her grandson
In February, days after the ban, Esther Martin, 68, was killed while visiting her 11-year-old grandson with neighbours hearing piercing screams coming from the home.
It is claimed she was trying to calm the savage beasts – named Beauty and Bear – with a broom before she was maimed.
Ms Martin suffered ‘unsurvivable’ wounds in the attack.
In September, Ashley Warren, 40, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, where he denied two charges relating to the dogs.
Warren pleaded not guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully named Bear, and pleaded not guilty to being in charge of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully called Beauty.
Warren also pleaded not guilty to having a bladed article.
Ms Martin, who was staying at the address in Hillman Avenue but lived in Woodford Green, east London, was found with ‘two large dogs’, an inquest was told, as proceedings were opened then suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation.
The medical cause of her death was recorded as ‘dog bite wounds to the upper right limb’.
Ms Martin is understood to have been visiting Warren’s house when she was set upon by the dogs.
It was previously reported that she had attempted to calm the dogs with a broom before they attacked.
Her grandson was seen running out of the house and screaming for help, witnesses said.
The dogs were shot dead by armed police officers who raced to the home and arrived within minutes of the 999 call.
Before their arrival, a man was earlier seen smashing a window with a brick in a desperate attempt to save her.
At the time of the incident, the dogs were caring for six puppies after Beauty gave birth, and it is thought Ms Martin had been attempting to stop the puppies from fighting with the broom.
Essex Police confirmed it was the first case to be charged since new laws on owning XL Bullies came into force on February 1.
A three-to-four week trial was fixed for August 11, 2025. Warren was given conditional bail.
February 3 – A grandmother was killed by two XL Bully dogs in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.
February 9 – A woman was bitten in the face by a ‘bully type dog’ in Lanarkshire.
February 10 – An eight-year-old boy was mauled by a dog believed to be an XL Bully while playing outside in Merseyside.
February 18 – An XL bully-type dog was shot dead by police after attacking another dog and injuring three people.
February 19 – A four-year-old girl was left seriously injured after she was attacked by a suspected XL Bully cross-breed in Carmarthen.
March 18 – A suspected XL Bully was killed by armed police after going on a rampage and injuring four people in Battersea, London. On the same day a three-year-old boy was mauled by a registered XL Bully in Doncaster.
April 9 – A woman was attacked in her home in the Norfolk town of Holt by an XL Bully she was looking after.
April 16 – A suspected XL bully attacked a woman in Blackpool.
April 29 – A woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being attacked by a bully-type dog in Kelloholm, Dumfriesshire.
May 20 – A woman was mauled to death by her two registered XL Bully dogs in Havering, east London.
May 27 – A five-year-old boy was attacked by an XL Bully in Hull.
May 28 – A 15-year-old boy was attacked by an XL Bully in Caerphilly, South Wales.
June 3 – Man hospitalised with ‘life changing’ injuries following XL bully attack in Bristol.
June 29 – Woman injured in XL bully attack in Eccles with police forced to open fire on the dog.
July 22 – 10-year-old girl bitten by unregistered XL bully in Doncaster.
September 10 – Four-year-old girl has been attacked by two XL Bullys while playing in the park in Sheffield
September 22 – Mother lucky to escape with her fingers after XL Bully attack in Halsingden.