American XL bully: Man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after man dies following dog attack

A man has died after being bitten by two dogs. The man, who suffered serious injuries, was airlifted to hospital after he was attacked outside a property in Stonnall, while Staffordshire Police said they stopped some children leaving a nearby primary school for “safety reasons”.

Officers were called to Main Street just before 3.15pm on Thursday (September 14), with the injured man taken to hospital. Police, who have launched an investigation, are trying to determine the dogs’ breeds which are believed to be American XL Bully.

A 30-year-old man from the Lichfield area, who was arrested on suspicion of having dogs dangerously out of control, has been further arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the fatal attack, the force said.

A spokesman said: “A number of people helped to try and get the dogs off the man and contained one of the dogs outside.

“The other was contained within the owner’s flat. We prevented a number of school children from leaving local primary school, St Peter’s Primary Academy, for safety reasons. The children have since been allowed to go home.”

A 63 year-old local resident and dog walker, who requested anonymity, said: “It is just awful to think that some of the children could have witnessed it and it is all very upsetting.” The woman, who did not see the attack, said an air ambulance landed in the local park, and the centre of Stonnall was shut down to traffic.

She said: “We are all a bit shook-up. The air ambulance landed in the park. The police came and the centre of the village was completely closed to cars and pedestrians. Obviously, after knowing that the two dogs had been caught, I did walk my two dogs but in the opposite direction.

“As dog walkers here, we all know each other. When we realised that something horrific had happened we all spoke to each other and nobody knew who it was.”

Earlier on Thursday, Lord Hogan-Howe, speaking at Westminster, said a national amnesty should be held to get dangerous dogs off the streets after a recent incident in Birmingham left an 11-year-old girl with serious injuries and two men were hurt.

As Merseyside chief constable back in 2007, he had introduced an amnesty for dog owners following the death of five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson, who was mauled by a banned pit bull-type dog at her grandmother’s home in St Helens, Merseyside, on New Year’s Day.

The West Midlands attack has prompted Home Secretary Suella Braverman to seek “urgent advice” on whether American bully XL dogs should be added to the list of outlawed breeds, arguing they are a “clear and lethal danger”.

But there is concern that the move may not be practical due to the American bully XL not being recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club, which could mean any ban may inadvertently outlaw other kinds of dogs.

It has led to demands for an overhaul of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, so it focuses “not on the breed but the deed”, or even for the legislation to be “sent to the knacker’s yard”.