XL bully attack Bootle: man and woman charged by police after eight-year-old boy seriously injured

A man and a woman have both been charged after an eight-year-old boy was left seriously injured following an XL bully attack.

Amanda Young, 49, and Lewis Young, 30, were arrested by police after the young boy was bitten on Saturday, February 10. Officers were called to the scene on Wadham Road in Bootle, Merseyside at around 5.20pm following reports that a child had been bitten on the head by a dog in the communal areas of nearby flats.

Amanda Young and Lewis Young, who are not related to the victim, were both charged with being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury. They have been remanded in custody and will appear at Liverpool Magistraites' Court on Monday. February 12.

The young boy was hospitalised with his injuries following the attack, and has been described by police as being in a serious but stable condition. The dog, which was later confirmed to be an XL bully, was destroyed in agreement with the owner on Saturday evening.

It comes after the XL bully ban came into force in England, with it being illegal to own an XL bully with an exemption certificate since February 1 and those registered being required to be kept on a lead and muzzled in public. It is also illegal to sell, abandon, breed or give away the breed, with restrictions being introduced following a spate of violent attacks by XL bullies.