Baby girl airlifted to hospital in serious condition after 'XL bully attack' in Kent
Two people remain in custody after being arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control.
Thursday 12 December 2024 09:36, UK
An eight-month-old girl is in a serious condition after being attacked by a dog and airlifted to hospital.
The animal has been seized and destroyed and is believed to be a registered XL bully type.
The attack happened at around 2pm on Wednesday inside a property on Siskin Close in Hawkinge, near Folkestone in Kent.
"Officers attended along with South East Coast Ambulance Service and an eight-month-old girl was airlifted to a London hospital where she remains in a serious condition," said Kent Police.
An 18-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman have been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
Police said the pair were still in custody and officers would remain in the area as investigations continue.
XL bully dogs can only be legally owned in England and Wales with an exemption certificate.
About 40,000 are believed to have been registered before a deadline in February when the law changed.
They must be muzzled and kept on a lead in public, but these rules don't apply when the dog is at home. Breeding, selling or abandoning them is also now illegal.
People with dangerously out-of-control dogs can be jailed for up to 14 years and banned from owning animals.
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In one of the latest XL bully cases to reach court, a man pleaded guilty last month over an attack that left his neighbour with fatal neck injuries.
The dog was shot dead by police at the scene near Sunderland.
Christopher Bell, 45, admitted the offence at Newcastle Crown Court and will be sentenced in January.