XL bully owner jailed for man's attack death

The owner of an XL bully dog which chased and killed a man has been jailed for three years.

Ian Langley, 54, was mauled in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on 3 October 2023, and died in hospital from "catastrophic" neck injuries.

Christopher Bell, 45, admitted being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place.

Bell's dog, an 18-month-old American XL bully called Titan which had a history of attacking other dogs, was shot dead by police at the scene of the attack.

Shortly before 19:00 BST on 3 October 2023, Mr Langley, who came from Liverpool and was known in the area as "Scouse", threw a stone at Bell's Maple Terrace home and smashed a window, prosecutor Jolyon Perks said.

Bell ran out of the house and chased Mr Langley and his XL bully dogs Titan and Sapphire followed through the open front door, Mr Perks said.

Titan overtook Bell and, after about 330ft (100m), dragged Mr Langley to the floor and clamped its jaws around Mr Langley's neck, the court heard.

The dog "firmly resisted" all attempts to pull it away, Mr Perks said, and Mr Langley suffered "catastrophic injuries".

Bell was eventually able to remove Titan and took him home before returning to Mr Langley's side and calling 999.

Mr Langley was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle but was declared dead about two hours after the attack, the court heard.

Armed police killed Titan at the scene, with Sapphire also later put down, the court heard.

When officers arrived, Bell, now of De La Pole Avenue in Hull, told them to "just kill" the dogs, Mr Perks said.

In a statement read to the court, Mr Langley's son Jake said his father was "loved" in the community and his "kindness and generosity" had been a huge influence.

He also said a change in the UK law tightly restricting ownership of XL bullies, which came into effect in February 2024, had come "tragically too late" for his father.

Other relatives said they had been devastated by his death and missed his almost-daily phone calls, adding he was a "huge character" and "loving dad".

The court heard Titan had savaged the leg of a Yorkshire terrier after escaping from Bell's home in July 2022, with Bell asking people for a lighter so he could try and burn his pet's nose to get it to release the other dog.

In June 2023, both Titan and Sapphire got out and attacked another dog for up to 10 minutes, with the ordeal ending after Bell threw water over them.

In mitigation, Sam Faulks said Bell, who had 32 convictions for 69 offences, was distraught and genuinely remorseful for Mr Langley's death.

Mr Faulks said it was a "horrible accident" rather than a deliberate attack and Bell "was doing everything he could to stop what was unfolding before him".

He said the dogs were the loves of Bell’s life with the defendant spending a lot of time and money caring for them.

Judge Carolyn Scott said Bell failed implement any safety or control measures after the earlier attacks and further incidents "could reasonably have been foreseen".

She said Bell's failure led to the "devastating" death of Mr Langley.

Bell was was also disqualified from having custody of a dog indefinitely.

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