# List of fatal dog attacks in the United Kingdom

Fatal dog attacks in the United Kingdom are usually measured in single figures per year. A 2021 study of fatal dog attacks in Europe during the period 1995–2016 placed the United Kingdom (with 56 fatalities) as fourth in the top five countries for number of human fatalities alongside Hungary (#1), France (#2), Romania (#3), and Poland (#5). The study also found that fatal dog attacks have been increasing significantly over time which was not attributable to the increase in the number of dogs, and stated "The numbers of fatalities are indeed a very small tip of the 'dog attack iceberg', and the number of dog attacks that lead to hospitalizations of the victim outnumber fatalities by several orders of magnitude."
Some fatalities and serious attacks have been followed by calls to increase dog regulations. There was a push to limit the number and gross weight of dogs that a dog walker could legally handle at one time after dog walker Natasha Johnston lost control of her eight dogs in 2023, resulting in a witness being bitten, spooking a horse causing its rider to fall, and Johnston's mauling death. An increasing number of serious dog attacks (both fatal and non-fatal) was the catalyst for the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which led to four breeds being banned: Pitbull, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiro. Between 2021 and 2023, around half of fatal dog attacks were caused by a single breed, the American Bully XL, and in December 2023, they were the first breed to be added to the act since 1991, making it illegal in England and Wales to sell, breed, abandon, or give away a Bully XL, to possess one without a Certificate of Exemption, or to have one in public without a lead and muzzle.
Below is a list of human deaths caused by dogs reported by the news media, published in scholarly papers, or mentioned through other sources. In the lists below, the dog type or breed is assigned by the sources. For more information on causes of death and studies related to dog bite-related fatalities, see Fatal dog attacks.

## Summary counts of fatalities by year

From the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (England and Wales 1981–2023):

## Pre–1980

| Date | Victim's name | Victim's age | Victim's gender | Dog type (number) | Location | Circumstances |
| 1737 | James Brooks | | Male | Unknown (1) | London, England | Brooks was bitten by a rabid dog and died. |
| 1750 | Charles Godman | | Male | Unknown (1) | London, England | Godman was bitten by a rabid dog and later died. |
| 1773 | | | | Unknown (1) | Bromley-by-Bow, London, England | A servant died of rabies received from the bite of a rabid dog. He was sent to the salt water but to no effect. |
| July 1822 | Samuel Butcher | | Male | Unknown (1) | Mile End, London, England | Butcher habitually made his dog attack and kill cats for the amusement of himself and others. On the last occasion, he beat the dog after it failed to do this; the dog turned on Butcher and injured him so severely that he died in hospital a few days later. The dog was killed at the scene by an onlooker, who cut its throat to end the attack. |
| 24 October 1827 | James Cordingley | | Male | Mastiff × bulldog mix (1), Unknown (1) | Little Horton, West Yorkshire, England | Cordingley, a skinner, was discovered in the early morning by passers-by in the yard of his house with serious injuries to his arm and throat; he died soon after. He had been attacked by his two watchdogs but the exact circumstances are unknown. It was speculated the dogs attacked him after he came home drunk, late the previous night. Both dogs were put down soon after. |
| 8 April 1837 | Ann Banks | | Female | Mastiff × Bloodhound | Meols, Cheshire, England | Banks was killed by a watchdog owned by a relative while taking it for a walk by the seashore with the relative's two children; the children escaped unharmed. The dog was later shot. |
| c. January 1854 | Ann Edwards | | Female | Unknown (1) | Liverpool, England | Edwards, an elderly woman, was killed by a dog owned by her landlady, Elizabeth Jackson. Jackson attempted to conceal the death, but the victim was missed and her body was found in the house by police. |
| March 1892 | Abigail McDonald | | Female | Unknown (4) | Ballynahinch, County Down, Northern Ireland | McDonald received fatal injuries while trying to separate four of her dogs which were fighting. The dogs were later put down. |
| 13 August 1896 | Christopher Ellsworth | 49 | Male | St Bernard (1) | Egremont, Cheshire, England | Ellsworth was attacked by his dog in his backyard. It bit his leg and refused to let go, despite the victim's daughter beating the dog with a whip. He was admitted to the hospital and died on the 17th. |
| 5 November 1911 | Harry Riley Hargreaves | 17 | Male | Several Mastiffs | Craggs Street, Middlesbrough, England | Hargreaves, who had an outstanding warrant for larceny, trespassed on an enclosed marine supply yard at night and was attacked by the guard dogs. The owner was charged under Section 2 of the Dogs Act 1871 but it was determined in court that the dogs were kept under proper control as they were behind a 13 foot wall and the charge was dismissed. |
| 1934 | Julia Tarpey | 5 weeks | Female | Fox Terrier | Eccles, England | The baby was left in a pram in the garden. The neighbour's family pet, "a friend of the children", was later seen sitting on the pram, and the baby was found to have been bitten about the head. |
| 1935 | Luhanna Elizabeth Bradley | 83 | Female | | Oxford Street, Southsea, England | A dog playfully jumped against Bradley, knocking her down and breaking her leg. She then contracted pneumonia and died. |
| 1935 | George William Smith | 3 | Male | Six Great Danes | Hanley, England | The dogs were seen mauling Smith and carry him about in their mouths. A reason for the attack was not determined. |
| 1935 | Anne Enid Ward | 11 months | Female | St Bernard | Chandler's Ford | While eating lunch at a table, the father was throwing scraps to the dog that was sitting below, suddenly it bit the victim who was crawling nearby, puncturing her head. |
| 4 June 1947 17 June 1947 † | Janet Bennett | 43 | Female | | Edinburgh, Scotland | A large black and white dog jumped up and pushed Bennett over, causing her spinal injuries. She died from her injuries two weeks later in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. |

## 1980–1999

| Date | Victim's name | Victim's age | Victim's gender | Dog type (Number) | Location | Circumstances |
| 4 June 1981 | Michek Cecil Franciss | 1 | Male | Alsatian (7) | Harlesden, London, England | Francis was in the garden of his grandparents' home where he was attacked by dogs owned by his uncle. The subsequent inquest was told the dogs were in poor condition and had been kept in a confined space. A verdict of accidental death was recorded. |
| 9 December 1986 | Amy Victoria Bourne | 5 days | Female | Jack Russell (1) | London, England | Five-day-old Bourne was found dead in a carrycot with skull perforations and fractures caused by dog bites. |
| 14 April 1989 | Kellie Lynch | 11 | Female | Rottweiler (2) | Argyll, Scotland | While on holiday, Lynch was mauled by two prize-winning Rottweilers. The victim was walking the dogs with a friend when the attack took place, as they had done several times before. The victim’s friend, a girl of 12, tried to save her life, but to no avail. The dogs had never shown any aggression before the attack and were both put-down. |
| 18 February 1991 | William Roach | 38 | Male | Alsatian (1) | Rusholme, Manchester, England | Roach was savaged to death by his pet dog as his wife tried to rescue him. |
| November 1991 | David Parry | 9 | Male | Great Dane (1), Alsatian (1), Lakeland Terrier (1) | Leighton Buzzard, England | Parry was killed by his family's three pet dogs in the garden of the family's pub. The three dogs were subsequently put down at the request of the father. |
| 21 November 1993 | Dean Parker | 7 | Male | Pit bull mix (1) | Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England | The dog, being walked by two unsupervised boys, aged 7 and 10, broke free of its lead and leapt at a snowman being built by Parker and his 8-year-old friend, Edward Davies. The dog then attacked Parker, biting through his jugular vein. He died from the injuries inflicted to his neck. When attacked, Parker screamed and struggled in an attempt to frighten off the dog, but this did not succeed; an expert later testified at the inquest that, given the dog's breed, this behaviour by Parker was counterproductive, and that the dog would only have been willing to let him go once he stopped screaming and resisting. Davies attempted to pull the dog off Parker, but was unable to do so. Early reports called the dog a mastiff cross-breed, but at the inquest, it was deemed largely a pit bull. The victim's father stated that the dog "was well known on the estate as being very dangerous before it attacked Dean". |
| 22 December 1994 | Ashley Wilson | 1 month | Female | Bull terrier (1) | Preston, Lancashire, England | A dog attack just before Christmas; a bull terrier savaged a 1-month-old baby girl. The infant had been lying in a bouncing chair by her mother’s feet when the dog, named Dodger, suddenly grabbed the baby by the head. Despite being taken to the Royal Preston Hospital, the baby died two hours later from head injuries. The dog was put down at the request of the family. |
| 23 December 1995 | David Kearney | 11 | Male | Rottweiler (2 or 3) | Darwen, Lancashire, England | Kearney was attacked two days before Christmas after climbing a fence to fetch his football. The boy was so badly mutilated, that his mother did not recognise him. He died two weeks after hospital admission and having a leg amputated to prevent gangrene. Two dogs involved in the attack were put down at the owner's request; he kept the other two dogs he owned. The CPS declined to prosecute the dogs' owner, but the jury at Kearney's inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing. |
| 12 July 1996 | Margaret Crisp | 76 | Female | Bull Terrier | Mead Road, Leckhampton, England | Crisp was attacked in the garden of her home by her grandson's dog which broke her neck, and was later shot by police at the scene. No prosecution took place because the dog was determined not to be a banned breed. |

## 2000–2009

| Date | Victim's name | Victim's age | Victim's gender | Dog type (Number) | Location | Circumstances |
| 7 November 2000 | Kirsty Ross | 25 | Female | Doberman (1) | Helston, Cornwall, England | Ross had had an epileptic seizure and her dog attempted to pick her up by the scruff of the neck as a mother dog would lift a puppy. There was no evidence of a 'savaging' of the victim, and the victim's 22-month-old daughter was in the same room unharmed. The dog was euthanized. |
| 16 May 2003 | George Dinham | 45 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | London, England | Dinham was found dead in his home, mauled to death by his pet, possibly after an epileptic seizure. Neighbours claimed the same dog attacked a child a few months before, though it was suggested that the dog might have merely jumped at the girl, and the scratches sustained were from falling over. The victim and dog were said to be inseparable, and the dog was known to nip at his owner to bring him around from seizures before. The dog was later put down. |
| 11 July 2005 | Liam Eames | 1 | Male | American Bulldog (1) | Leeds, West Yorkshire, England | The family's two dogs were normally kept outside, but Liam's father, Christopher (who was at work at the time of the attack) had let them in because it was hot outside. Liam's mother, Jacqueline, was sitting with him on the floor when he crawled towards the dog and it attacked him. Jacqueline was unable to free the baby and the dog only let go once the family's other dog intervened, at which point she ran outside with the baby shouting for help. The child was pronounced dead an hour later from head and neck wounds. The dog, named Missy, had been acquired from a rescue, and had a “nervous temperament,” but was otherwise fine around the children. It was seized along with the family's other dog and was slated to be euthanised. The other dog was returned to the family. |
| 24 September 2006 | Cadey-Lee Deacon | 5 months | Female | Rottweiler (2) | Leicester, East Midlands, England | Deacon was attacked when her mother and her partner were moving furniture in the living quarters of a pub. The two guard dogs, which were usually kept in a kennel on the pub's roof, entered through a fire escape door that was left open for 15 minutes and took the unsupervised 5-month-old baby from her Moses basket and out to the roof where they mauled her. The dogs, Bruno and Bessie, were owned by the partner's mother (the licensee of the pub) and were put down soon after the incident. The pub where the attack took place was located opposite a school. Local residents familiar with the dogs described them as "very aggressive", "powerful", and "vicious", and said people had been unhappy about having to walk their children past the pub to school and feared the dogs would jump down from the roof and attack. |
| 1 January 2007 | Ellie Lawrenson | 5 | Female | American Pit Bull Terrier (1) | St Helens, Merseyside, England | Lawrenson's grandmother, after smoking ten cannabis joints and drinking two bottles of wine, let the 75-pound dog inside the house where it attacked and killed the girl. The girl received 72 separate injuries, mostly to her head and neck, and the floor was "awash with blood" when police arrived. The dog was shot dead at the scene by a police marksman. The dog, named Reuben, had a reputation locally for aggression. It weighed 34 kg, spent its time bouncing on a trampoline in the back garden while carrying large pieces of wood, and was described by a dog specialist within the Met as "fantastically well conditioned" and of "immeasurable power". Previously, the dog had attacked the victim's aunt without provocation, leaving her needing stitches to her leg, and, on a separate occasion had attacked a Jack Russell terrier. Kiel Simpson, the victim's uncle and owner of the dog, was jailed on possession of an illegal dog and banned from keeping dogs for five years. The grandmother was charged with manslaughter but was acquitted. Almost 200 banned dogs were surrendered the following month when Merseyside Police offered an amnesty. |
| 28 December 2007 | Archie-Lee Hirst | 1 | Male | Rottweiler | Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England | Hirst was being carried by a 7-year-old girl when the dog attacked, wrenching the boy from her arms. He was dragged into the garden of his grandparents' house and mauled. Though the victim's aunt attempted to fight the dog away, the victim was 'savaged to death'. Both the victim's parents were at a neighbour's house and didn't witness the incident. The two-and-a-half-year-old female dog was shot dead by police at the scene. The grandparents had only acquired her 6 months prior and had not walked her for 5 months, according to testimony at the inquest. According to a consultant, the dog was kept in the back yard and did not have enough mental stimulation. |
| 27 January 2008 | James Rehill | 78 | Male | Rottweiler | Newham, London, England | Rehill was taking the dog for its morning walk when he fell over in the street. At first, the dog licked and pawed its owner. Subsequent events, and Rehill's cause of death, are disputed. Initial media reports, based on eyewitness accounts, asserted that the dog attacked, tearing chunks of flesh from his face, and that this was what caused Rehill's death. The dog only let go once sprayed with a fire extinguisher and was then shot by the police. Per other witness accounts, the dog was merely trying to help the owner, not attacking him. Furthermore, a post-mortem revealed that he had had a stroke immediately before his collapse, and his inquest ruled that his death was due to natural causes. The RSPCA complained that the ruling that he had died of natural causes did not get as widely reported as the initial "attack" had been, and cited the case as an example of a broader phenomenon that initial media reports about dog attacks are unreliable. Rehill died at Royal London Hospital. He had owned the dog for 10 years, and it had allegedly never acted aggressively before. |
| 20 January 2009 4 February 2009 † | Stephen Hudspeth | 33 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier | Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England | Hudspeth was bitten on the elbow while walking to work and later died from septicaemia. |
| 8 February 2009 | Jaden Joseph Mack | 3 months | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1), Jack Russell Terrier (1) | Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, Wales | The two dogs dragged the three-and-a-half-month-old baby off a table while his grandmother was taking a nap, and attacked him. The grandmother discovered the dead baby and was shrieking, drawing attention from a neighbour who came over to see what was going on. The neighbour said the baby had severe injuries to his neck and was dead. Both dogs were said to have previously acted friendly towards the infant. Both dogs were put down. |
| 1 May 2009 | Andrew Walker | 21 | Male | Alsatian (2) | Blackpool, Lancashire, England | Walker was one of two men who were trying to separate two dogs that were fighting in their backyard. Both dogs turned on the victim, who received 51 bites in the attack and lost four pints of blood. The dogs were euthanized at the request of the owner, who was known to have owned dangerous dogs before. His previous Rottweilers had attacked a woman and killed her poodle, but he was not banned from owning animals. |
| 18 June 2009 21 September 2009 † | Damian Holden | 35 | Male | Weimaraner (1) | Wales | While Holden was trying to put up a tent during a camping holiday with his wife and son in Wales, his dog Eric nipped his hand. (The coroner would later rule that the nip had no "malicious intent" behind it.) Holden developed sepsis as a result of a virus in the dog's saliva, suffered multiple organ failures, had his feet amputated, and finally died three months later in hospital in Crewe, Cheshire. |
| 30 November 2009 | Jon Paul Massey | 4 | Male | Pit Bull Type (1) | Liverpool, England | Massey was attacked in his house by a large dog. His grandmother tried to protect him, sustaining injuries herself. The dog, named Uno, was shot in the front garden by responding police. It had been reported that they were breeding dogs at the house. The victim's uncle pleaded guilty to three counts under the Dangerous Dogs Act and was jailed for four months. He was found to be breeding pit bulls. The victim's grandmother admitted one charge of keeping a dangerous dog and was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 18 months, and was banned from owning a dog again. |

## 2010–2019

| Date | Victim's name | Victim's age | Victim's gender | Dog type (Number) | Location | Circumstances |
| 17 April 2010 | Zumer Ahmed | 1 | Female | American Bulldog (1) | Crawley, West Sussex, England | 18-month-old Ahmed was mauled by her uncle's dog, named Game, who came in from the backyard. The grandmother, who was present, was not strong enough to remove the dog. Two workmen from next door pulled the child and dog apart, but the child died in hospital. The dog's owner wasn't charged with manslaughter due to insufficient evidence but was convicted of keeping a banned Dogo Argentino (a second dog), and was prohibited from keeping dogs for five years. Both dogs were put down. |
| 16 August 2010 18 August 2010 † | Lesley Banks | 51 | Female | Rottweiler (1) | Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England | Banks was bitten by her dog, Brannigan, while loading him into a car, and refused to seek medical treatment for the bite out of fear that Brannigan, who had previously saved her life by waking her during a fire, would be put down as a result. She developed septicaemia and died two days after the bite. Brannigan was put down. |
| 23 December 2010 | Barbara Williams | 52 | Female | Neapolitan Mastiff (1) | Wallington, Sutton, England | Williams was attacked and killed by her partner's pet mastiff, suffering multiple injuries and a severe haemorrhage to her head and neck. The dog, named Debo, was shot dead by police marksmen, and a pit bull puppy named Ruby (a banned dog) was seized and later euthanized. The dogs' owner was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £3,340, and was banned from owning any animal or having anything to do with keeping or transporting animals. The owner's neighbour had previously called the police and local council about the dog after it smashed the fence between the two properties. |
| 23 January 2012 29 January 2012 † | Leslie Trotman | 83 | Male | Pit bull type (1) | Brentford, West London, England | Trotman was attacked in his garden by his neighbour's escaped dog, suffering bite wounds and injuries from being knocked over. He died six days later from a ruptured spleen. The dog's owner was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and three dogs were seized. |
| February 2012 | Gary Dickinson | 57 | Male | Terrier | Sturry, Kent, England | Dickinson was nipped by his pet terrier and the wound became infected. When Dickinson's partner first took him to hospital for treatment, the on-call GP at Kent and Canterbury Hospital misdiagnosed his symptoms as food poisoning and sent him home. Dickinson later suffered septic shock due to the infection and died three days after the bite. The dog was rehomed. |
| 30 October 2012 | Gloria Knowles | 71 | Female | Bordeaux Bulldog (2), American Bulldog (1), Mongrel (1) | Morden, South London, England | Knowles was attacked and killed by her daughter's dogs when she went to feed them. Police seized five dogs: two Bordeaux bulldogs, two American bulldogs, and a mongrel. |
| 20 November 2012 | Harry Harper | 8 days | Male | Jack Russell Terrier cross (1) | Telford, Shropshire, England | 8-day-old Harper was attacked in his cot by the smaller of two family dogs. The dog, which neighbours called "small but vicious", was put down. |
| 26 March 2013 | Jade Lomas-Anderson | 14 | Female | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (2), Bullmastiff (2) | Atherton, Greater Manchester, England | Lomas-Anderson was visiting a friend's house. Her friend briefly left, leaving Lomas-Anderson alone in the house, when four of her friend's five dogs attacked her. The dogs, Buddy, Neo, Ty and Sky were shot dead by police. Their owner was given a 16-week suspended prison sentence for animal cruelty. |
| 25 May 2013 | Clifford Clarke | 79 | Male | Presa Canario x Bull Mastiff (1) | Liverpool, England | Clarke was attacked in his garden. He was dragged around and had one arm chewed off at the elbow. The 70 lb dog, which had not been fed for roughly 48 hours before the attack, was so aggressive it bit at the end of the officer's gun; it was shot twice and killed. The dog's owners were charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act, were both jailed for a year, and banned from keeping dogs. |
| 5 November 2013 | Lexi Branson | 4 | Female | Bulldog type or Aylestone Bulldog (1) | Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, England | Branson was home from school, sick, when the dog, named Mulan, attacked her, going straight for her throat. The mother repeatedly stabbed the dog with a kitchen knife. A post-mortem revealed Branson died from facial injuries and the dog preventing the girl from breathing. The family got the dog from a rehoming centre two months prior, it was originally a stray and it had been through several owners since 2007. |
| 9 December 2013 | Emma Bennett | 27 | Female | Pit bull (2) | Osmondthorpe, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England | Pregnant mother-of-four, Bennett, died after she was attacked by the animals, named Bella and Dollar, at her home in Leeds. She died the next day. The victim's partner, the dog's owner, pleaded guilty to owning dogs prohibited by the Dangerous Dogs Act and was ordered at Leeds Magistrates' Court to do 280 hours of unpaid work. The court heard he had threatened to set one of the dogs on two female social workers months before the fatal attack. He was banned from keeping dogs for life and ordered to pay £800 costs. |
| 7 January 2014 | Barry Walsh | 46 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | Westcliffe-on-Sea, Essex, England | Walsh was mauled by his girlfriend's dog, Gypsy, after a domestic incident. The "highly protective" dog bit him 42 times, broke five of his ribs, and ruptured his spleen. The circumstances were unclear; Walsh's girlfriend alleged he slapped her and picked up and threatened Gypsy, but she changed elements of her story during the investigation and again during the inquest, and the police investigator complained she never gave a coherent account. The coroner recorded an open verdict, stating that "We will never, ever, know or ever be entirely clear what happened". |
| 11 February 2014 | Ava-Jayne Corless | 11 months | Female | Pit bull terrier (1) | Blackburn, Lancashire, England | Corless was attacked and killed by a 126 lb dog as her mother lay sleeping with her boyfriend, the dog's owner. The 126 lb dog was determined to be a pit bull terrier by experts and a veterinary surgeon and was put down after the attack. The dog's owner was jailed for 18 weeks and prohibited from owning dogs for 5 years after he was found guilty of owning a prohibited breed. The dog was named Snoop but was known in the neighbourhood by the name "Killer" as it killed a neighbour's cat two years prior. |
| 18 February 2014 | Eliza-Mae Mullane | 6 days | Female | Alaskan Malamute (1) | Pontyberem, Carmarthenshire, Wales | Mullane's mother left the sleeping 6-day-old baby in her pram inside the house while she stepped out to put her son in a taxi for school. One of family's two pet dogs had entered the room and the baby was on the floor. The dog involved in the attack, an Alaskan Malamute, was seized and put down; the other dog, a collie-cross was also euthanised. |
| 16 July 2014 | Irene Collins | 73 | Female | German Shepherd (1) | Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England | Collins was repeatedly bitten when police let loose a 98-pound police dog to locate a suspected drug dealer on the run. She suffered multiple bites and a broken arm from falling during the attack. She had lung cancer and emphysema and died four days after the attack. The pathologist said her death was hastened by the bites. The dog, which had eleven prior biting incidents, was put down. Cleveland Police changed their policy on acquiring dogs, now requiring bite records. |
| 20 September 2014 | Andrew Russell | 90 | Male | American Bulldog (1) | West Calder, Scotland | Russell, a pensioner with a zimmerframe, stepped in to protect his wife after an American Bulldog pounced on her. The dog turned on him and ripped the flesh from his arm, exposing bone, before bystanders came to his aid. He initially made good progress in hospital but deteriorated and died a month after the attack. The inquest found no clear cause of death and did not rule out death by natural causes. |
| 20 July 2014 | Louise Caygill | 43 | Female | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | Liverpool, England | Caygill was found in her flat, dead from multiple dog bites. The dog, which had bitten and injured her arm on a previous occasion as well as biting and hospitalising another man, was seized and put down. A neighbour overheard her shouting at her dog to get down and let go of her, but didn't intervene because this was a common occurrence. |
| 3 October 2014 | Molly-Mae Wotherspoon | 6 months | Females | American Pit Bull Terrier (1) | Daventry, Northamptonshire, England | 6-month-old Wotherspoon was attacked when the family pit bull (banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act) broke free from its cage. The child had injuries to all four limbs and puncture wounds to her brain. The dog was put down on the scene. The victim's mother and grandmother were both sentenced to two years and prohibited from owning any dog for ten years. |
| 20 March 2015 | Rhona Greve | 64 | Female | American Bulldog (1) | Ely, Cardiff, Wales | Greve, who had heart disease, suffered cardiac arrest and died after being bitten in the neck and face by her grandson's dog. The grandson was already banned from owning dogs due to a previous incident, and the dog that killed her had behaved violently towards her in the past. The grandson was sentenced to four months in prison. |
| 20 June 2015 | Reggie Young | 3 weeks | Male | Lakeland Terrier cross (1) | Sunderland, England | While Reggie's father was asleep, 3-week-old Reggie either fell or was dragged from his bouncer and was mauled by the terrier, named Tricky. He was found alive in a pool of blood by his mother when she returned home, but could not be saved. Reggie's father, the dog's owner, pleaded guilty at Newcastle Crown Court to being in charge of a dangerous dog and was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment. |
| 9 October 2015 16 October 2015 † | William George | 68 | Male | Pit Bull Type (1) | Dorset, England | George contracted sepsis when he was bitten on the left hand as he tried to save his springer spaniel from the mixed breed Pit-Bull-type dog, named Rocco. Four days after the incident Mr George visited his GP who gave him a tetanus boost and antibiotics, but his health worsened, and he was rushed to hospital the next day. By that time Mr George was ‘beyond help’ and he suffered multiple organ failure and died a week after the incident. |
| 12 November 2015 18 November 2015 † | Ken McCall | 84 | Male | English Springer Spaniel (1) | Winchester, England | McCall was playing tug of war with his 16-month-old springer spaniel when she accidentally bit the back of his hand. McCall became unwell the following day and sought treatment at the out-of-hours service where he got antibiotics prescribed. Upon returning home. his symptoms worsened and he was admitted to the hospital on November 15, where he died three days later. |
| 1 January 2016 | Liam Hewitson | 22 | Male | Pit bull cross (1) | Preston, Lancashire, England | The dog attacked while Hewitson was having an epileptic seizure, injuring his trachea. His father kicked, hit, and stabbed the dog trying to loosen its hold. Paramedics were unable to save Hewitson. The five-year-old family dog (named Trigger, and said to not be a banned breed but called a pit bull cross) had twice before attacked Hewitson when he was having an epileptic event. |
| 22 May 2016 | Stephen Hodgson | 45 | Male | Staffordshire x pitbull cross (1) | Cleator Moor, Cumbria, England | Hodgson was passed out on a bed when his dog came inside, grabbed him by the back of the neck, dragged him to the floor, and mauled him about the neck. He had twice before been bitten by this same dog. The dog severed Hodgson's carotid artery and jugular vein. The dog was tasered by police and later died. |
| 15 August 2016 | David Ellam | 52 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross (1) | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England | Ellam and his smaller pet dog were attacked when his neighbour's five-year-old dog got out of its pen. Two months prior, Ellam reported the dog to the council, fearing it was a pit bull terrier and might attack. Police seized the dog but returned it to its owner a week before the fatal attack after deciding it was not a banned breed per the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. Ellam suffered a sustained attack and the dog was still mauling him when police arrived. The dog's owner was jailed for ten years after he was convicted of owning a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death. He had failed to comply with an order to muzzle and restrain the dog, which had a history of attacking neighbours. |
| 18 August 2016 | Dexter Neal | 3 | Male | American Bulldog Mastiff-bull dog (1) | Halstead, Essex, England | Neal was pushed to the ground by the rescue home dog and attacked. He died on the way to the hospital. The dog's owner pleaded guilty to owning a dangerously out-of-control dog resulting in death, was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, banned from owning dogs for 10 years, and ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service. The dog, named Ruby, was euthanised. |
| 13 October 2016 | Archie Joe Darby | 4 months | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | Colchester, Essex, England | Darby's mother was with her two children and talking to someone on the phone when the dog attacked the children. The mother knew that her 4-month-old was already dead and tried to save her older child who was 22 months old. The mother was able to get the dog out into the conservatory and barricade the door. Bailey, the dog owned by her sister and brother-in-law for four years and acquired from a rescue, continued aggressive behaviour right up until it was put to sleep. A post-mortem examination was conducted and it concluded that there were no signs of disease or ill health. The mother and her children moved into the home a week prior to the attack. The mother was also injured during the attack and the 22-month-old brother suffered life changing injuries. |
| 20 March 2017 | Mario Perivoitos | 41 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | North London, England | Perivoitos was attacked and killed by his pet after he had an epileptic seizure. His larynx was crushed. Cocaine and morphine were found in the dog's urine. The dog, named Major, was to be euthanised. |
| 25 June 2017 11 July 2017 † | Derek Luckie | 73 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (1) | Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, England | Luckie was nipped on the leg and wounded during his daily walk, contracted sepsis, went to hospital two days later, and died on July 11. The dog was a rescue dog that had never previously displayed signs of aggression. The dog's owner turned themselves in to police, the dog was euthanised, and the owner was given a 6 month suspended prison sentence. |
| 15 October 2017 | Ryan Busa | 10 | Male | German Shepherd (1) | Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland | Busa was attacked and killed by the family dog. |
| 18 November 2018 13 December 2018 † | Reuben McNulty | 2 months | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier (2) | Yaxley, Cambridgeshire, England | 2-month-old McNulty was attacked at home on 18 November by his parents' two pet dogs, Fizz and Dotty, suffering horrific injuries. He died at the hospital weeks later. Both dogs were euthanised. |
| 13 April 2019 | Frankie MacRitchie | 10 | Male | Bulldog cross or American Bulldog x Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross | Cornwall, England | MacRitchie was attacked and killed when he was left alone with the dog, named Winston, in a caravan at a holiday park. The child's mother and the dog's owner had both left the caravan to drink. The dog's owner was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and having a dog dangerously out of control. The blood-soaked woman had left the area by begging for a taxi or train fare and pretending she was a victim of domestic violence. The dog was seized. Variously described as a "bulldog-type breed", a "boxer bulldog type", and a "large bulldog cross", it was discovered that the dog had been involved in four previous attacks and often wore a muzzle at home. The mother was jailed for two years for child neglect and the dog's owner was jailed for three years for owning a dangerously out of control dog. |
| 31 May 2019 7 June 2019 † | Sharon Jennings | 55 | Female | Unknown (1) | Preston, Lancashire, England | Jennings was bitten on the hand and neck when she broke up a fight between her dog and a loose dog (named Psycho) during a walk on 31 May. She was taken to hospital on 3 June and died on 7 June from sepsis. A dog was seized. A man was arrested "on suspicion of offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act". |
| 24 September 2019 | Elayne Stanley | 44 | Female | American Bulldog (2) | Widnes, Cheshire, England | Stanley was pounced on and mauled by her two dogs, named DJ and Billy. The victim, who weighed eight stone, was unable to fight them off. Neighbours were alerted by screams from the victim's two twin daughters. The neighbours forced their way into the victim's house and attempted to distract the dogs by throwing bricks and tools at them. Police shot and killed DJ at the scene. Billy was taken to a secure kennel and was put down four days later. The victim was treated by paramedics at the scene but later died. Reports say that the dogs became unnerved by an argument which could've caused them to become aggressive. The dogs had lived with the owner for just over two years, having come from the victim's ex-boyfriend. At the inquest. it was revealed the dogs had been involved in incidents that the new owner was not aware of. |

## 2020–present

| Date | Victim's name | Victim's age | Victim's gender | Dog type (Number) | Location | Circumstances |
| 29 January 2020 | Jonathan Halstead | 35 | Male | Staffordshire Bull Terrier x Mastiff cross (1) | Oldham, Greater Manchester, England | The coroner recorded a narrative conclusion that Halstead 'died as a result of injuries sustained in an attack from his dog, whilst unconscious following an epileptic seizure' |
| 13 September 2020 | Elon Jase Ellis-Joynes | 12 days | Male | Chow Chow x German Shepherd cross (1) | Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England | The 12-day-old newborn baby was mauled to death by a Chow Chow-Alsatian cross at his home in September 2020. He suffered between 30 and 40 puncture wounds and later died in hospital, while the dog, named Teddy, was put down. A post-mortem report found Elon died as a result of severe trauma to his chest and abdomen with injuries "typical of having been repeatedly bitten by a dog". Stephen Joynes, 36, admitted to a charge of being the owner of a dangerously out-of-control dog, causing injury resulting in death. He was sentenced to four years in prison at Sheffield Crown Court. |
| 5 February 2021 | Keira Ladlow | 21 | Female | Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross (1) | Birmingham, West Midlands, England | Ladlow died after being attacked by a dog her brother bought to improve her mental health. A post-mortem examination revealed "extensive injuries" the court heard, which likely caused her death. The dog, named Gucci, was put down. |
| 2 April 2021 | Lucille Downer | 85 | Female | American Bulldog (2) | Rowley Regis, West Midlands, England | Downer was attacked in her back garden after the dogs escaped from a neighbour's garden through a hole in a fence. A 44 year-old-man pleaded guilty to an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act at Wolverhampton Crown Court in April 2023. |
| 8 November 2021 | Jack Lis | 10 | Male | American Bully XL | Caerphilly, Gwent, Wales | Lis was killed by an attack on his face and neck by a "large and powerful" dog while visiting a school friend's house. The dog was notably named "Beast." The dog was put down by firearms officers. The dog’s owner Brandon Hayden, then 19, was sentenced in June 2022 to just over four years at a young offenders’ institution, and Amy Salter, then 29, was jailed for three years after they pleaded guilty to being in charge of the out-of-control dog. |
| 22 December 2021 | Adam Watts | 55 | Male | American Bully XL (1) | Auchterhouse, Scotland | Watts was attacked at the Juniper Kennels and Cattery he owned and was pronounced dead at the scene. The dog involved had been put into the care of Mr Watts' kennels by police after being seized under warrant in August. The dog’s previous owner Peter Fyfe, 48, has now been banned from keeping animals for five years over previous incidents involving the dog attacking other dogs. |
| 10 January 2022 | John William Jones | 68 | Male | British Bulldog (3) | Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales | Jones, who had Down syndrome, was bitten by three dogs at a house and consequently died at the scene from his injuries, as recorded by the Ceredigion Coroner's Office. A woman was subsequently arrested in connection with the attack. |
| 6 March 2022 | Kyra Leanne King | 3 months | Female | Husky (1) | Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, England | 3-month-old King was killed after an attack at Ostler's Plantation, an area popular with dog walkers. The dog who attacked her, Blizzard, was one of 19 huskies being exercised by her parents. Her mother Karen Alcock, 41, pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog that was out of control causing injury and resulting in death, while her father Vince King, 54, initially plead not guilty but changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial. Both received suspended prison sentences and unpaid work, and the dog was put down. |
| 21 March 2022 | Bella-Rae Birch | 1 | Female | American Bully XL (1) | St Helens, Merseyside, England | The 17-month-old toddler was attacked at her home by a dog that the family had owned for only a week. Merseyside Police announced tests have confirmed that the dog involved was an American Bully XL. |
| 28 March 2022 | Lawson Bond | 2 | Male | Rottweiler (1 to 3) | Egdon, Worcestershire, England | Bond suffered serious injuries and was in cardiac arrest following an attack at his grandmother's home. His grandmother was an unlicenced rottweiler breeder who left Bond briefly unsupervised, during which time he let himself into a field housing three dogs and was attacked. The three rottweilers that were removed from the property following the attack were housed securely by West Mercia Police for several weeks before being put down. |
| 15 May 2022 | Daniel John Twigg | 3 | Male | Cane Corso (1) | Milnrow, Rochdale, England | Police were called by paramedics after Twigg was injured in the attack. He was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries. His parents were later charged with gross negligence manslaughter |
| 23 May 2022 | Keven Jones | 62 | Male | American Bully XL (1) | Wrexham, Wales | Jones died after being bitten by his daughter-in-law's dog, Cookie, and went into cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at the scene, despite efforts to rescue him. Chanel Fong, 31, pleaded not guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control; trial date was set for October 2025. |
| 15 June 2022 | Joanne Robinson | 43 | Female | American Bully XL or Italian Mastiff (1) | Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England | Robinson was mauled at a home and died of severe blood loss from neck wounds. Her boyfriend suffered devastating injuries to his face, hands, and chest as he tried to pull the animal off her. |
| 10 August 2022 | Ian Symes | 34 | Male | American Bully XL (1) | Fareham, Hampshire, England | The 52 kg dog had been purchased the day before from a travellers' site by the victim's friend, after seeing a video on Snapchat. Immediately prior to the attack, the victim took the dog out for a walk, was observed engaging in rough play, winding the dog up and putting it into a headlock. |
| 3 October 2022 | Ann Dunn | 65 | Female | American Bulldog (1 to 5) | Vauxhall, Liverpool, England | Dunn died after being attacked by multiple dogs. Emergency services pronounced her dead at the scene. Five dogs who lived at the property were surrendered to the authorities and put down. |
| 3 December 2022 20 December 2022 † | Shirley Patrick | 83 | Female | American Bully XL x Cane Corso cross (1) | Caerphilly, South Wales | Patrick died from her injuries 17 days after being attacked by a dog. Her cause of death was given as sepsis, pneumonia, infected scalp wounds, and traumatic lacerations secondary to a dog attack. The dog was seized by the police and put down. |
| 12 January 2023 | Natasha Johnston | 28 | Female | American Bully XL (1 to 8) | Caterham, England | Officers were called to reports of a dog/s attacking members of the public at Gravelly Hill. Johnston, a dog walker, died at the scene, and a second woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Eight dogs were seized by the police. |
| 31 January 2023 | Alice Stones | 4 | Female | Unknown | Milton Keynes, England | Stones was attacked in the back garden of her house by a dog her family had acquired a few weeks earlier. The "large, brown" dog was put down at the scene. It was confirmed not to be a banned breed. |
| 22 April 2023 | Wayne Stevens | 51 | Male | Cane Corso cross | Derby, England | Stevens died at the scene of the incident. The brother of the victim subsequently pleaded guilty to being the person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death. It was reported at sentencing that the 14 month old dog had a history of aggressive behaviour, targeting the head and neck. Gary Stevens was jailed for 4.5 years and banned from keeping dogs for life |
| 19 May 2023 | Jonathan Hogg | 37 | Male | American Bully XL (1) | Leigh, Greater Manchester, England | Hogg was found with serious injuries and was transferred to hospital, but died shortly afterward. A 24-year-old man was bailed, after being arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog. |
| 2 June 2023 | | 75 | Female | Unreported, but not a banned breed | Bedworth, Warwickshire, England | A grandmother died after being attacked by the family dog. Anita Atwal, 51, was charged with being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death, and the dog was put down. |
| 3 September 2023 | Marie Stevens | 40 | Female | Rottweiler (2) | Brighton-le-Sands, Merseyside, England | Stevens was bitten on the legs and arms by two dogs. She was treated for the wounds in hospital and later discharged. Two weeks later, she collapsed and died of a pulmonary embolism. Brian Walshe and Rachel Walshe were charged with being the owner/person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury and resulting in death. The dogs involved in this incident were seized by officers and remain in secure kennels. The dog owners received their sentences at Liverpool Crown Court in May 2024. |
| 14 September 2023 | Ian Price | 52 | Male | American Bully XL (2) | Stoke on Trent, England | Two dogs jumped from the window of their home into the garden of a neighbour. The neighbour's son sustained multiple life-threatening injuries and died in hospital. A 30-year-old man was initially arrested on suspicion of being in charge of dogs dangerously out of control causing injury. He was re-arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and released on conditional bail. One of the dogs involved in the attack died after being restrained by members of the public while the other was put down by a vet. Police confirmed they were believed to be XL Bully dogs but more tests were needed to determine the breed. |
| 4 October 2023 | Ian Langley | 54 | Male | American Bully XL (1) | Houghton-le-Spring, England | Langley was walking his Patterdale Terrier puppy when he was attacked by an XL Bully. He suffered injuries to his throat and later died in hospital. A man was arrested on suspicion of murder. The dog was put down at the scene and a second dog was also seized. Neighbour Christopher Bell, 45, later pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place |
| 25 November 2023 | Antony 'Tony' Harrington | 77 | Male | Multiple, including his friend's Bernese Mountain Dog | Meriden, Warwickshire, England | The retired vet was found dead in his garden. It was initially unclear if the dogs bites were the cause of death or happened after he died of natural causes, but they were later determined to be the cause of death. The dogs were seized at the scene, and a 75 year old woman was arrested in April 2024 and bailed until June. His own Black Russian Terrier is not believed to have been involved in the attack |
| 3 February 2024 | Esther Martin | 68 | Female | American Bully XL (2) | Jaywick, Essex, England | Martin tried to stop puppies from fighting and was attacked by two adult dogs named Bear (male) and Beauty (2-year-old female). Her 11-year-old grandson was present during the attack and called for help. Her injuries were described as non-survivable. The dogs were shot by first responders. The 39-year-old father of her grandson was arrested on suspicion of dangerous dog offences. Six puppies were confiscated and taken to a police kennel for legal clarification. Concerns had previously been raised about the breed and temperament of the dogs. |
| 20 May 2024 | Angeline Mahal | 50s | Female | American Bully XL (2) | Hornchurch, London, England | The woman was attacked by her two XL Bullies, whom she had owned since they were puppies, and died at the scene. The registered dogs were seized. |
| 16 June 2024 | Elle Doherty | 7 months | Female | Belgian Shepherd of the variety Malinois | Coventry, England | A 7-month-old baby girl suffered serious head injuries and died after being bitten by her family's pet dog at home. The dog was put down. |
| 22 July 2024 | Kelly Reilly | 33 | Female | American Bulldog | Coventry, England | Reilly was attacked by a pet dog in a property on Wexford Road, where paramedics found her in critical condition. They evacuated her to safety with police help and attempted to save her life, but she died at the scene shortly afterwards. Kelly was epileptic and her family believe the dog being spooked by a seizure led to the attack. |
| 29 July 2024 30 July 2024 † | Michelle Hempstead | 34 | Female | Bullmastiff | Southend-on-Sea, England | A woman suffered serious injuries from being bitten by one of her dogs, was taken by ambulance to Royal London Hospital, and died the following day. Both of the woman's dogs - a Pomeranian and a Bullmastiff - were seized by police; it was reported that both were to be put down. |
| 20 August 2024 | David Daintree | 53 | Male | American Bully XL | Accrington, England | Daintree was killed by his own XL Bully in his own home. Police were called to the scene by the ambulance service but Daintree was dead when they arrived. As the dog remained a threat, police shot it dead at the scene. |
| 21 August 2024 | Nicholas Glass | 32 | Male | American Bully XL (2), Undisclosed (2) | Rubery, Birmingham, England | Glass was found dead with injuries consistent of a dog attack. 2 dogs were seized by police at the scene and 2 escaped dogs were captured two days later. The autopsy revealed he died from the injuries caused by the dog attack. Which dog(s) caused his injuries has not yet been made public. |
| 1 November 2024 | Savannah Bentham | 10 | Female | American Bully XL | East Heslerton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, England | The girl was attacked by the family dog and sustained serious injuries from which she died at the scene. The dog lived with the family for 4 years and had an exemption certificate. He was seized by the police. |
| 4 Dec 2024 | Akif Mustaq | 42 | Male | American Pit Bull Terrier | Stratford, East London | Leanne McDonnell, 32, was charged with owning a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death; failing in the duty, as a person responsible for an animal, to ensure its welfare; and having custody of a fighting dog. She was also charged with three counts of owning a dog dangerously out of control causing no injury in relation to a separate incident on 18 November. The dog that was involved in both incidents was seized by the police. |
| 7 Dec 2024 | Michelle McLeod | 41 | Female | American Bully XL | Aberdeen | McLeod died after being attacked by a dog at a flat in Aberdeen. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and the dog has since been euthanised. |
| 26 February 2025 | Morgan Dorsett | 19 | Female | American Bully XL | Hartcliffe, Bristol | A teenage girl died at the scene after being attacked inside a flat she was visiting in Hartcliffe, Bristol. Two people, a man and a woman both aged in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death and possession of a prohibited breed of dog. They remain in police custody. The dog was sedated, seized and later euthanised. |