Man pleads guilty to owning ‘dangerously out-of-control’ XL bully after pet savaged and…

18 November 2024, 13:33 | Updated: 18 November 2024, 13:56

A man has pleaded guilty to owning a dangerous and ‘out-of-control' XL Bully after the pet attacked and killed his neighbour in a savage and unprovoked attack.

Ian Langley, 54, sustained fatal neck injuries in October 2023 after the XL Bully attacked him on October 3 last year.

Christopher Bell, 45, formerly of Maple Terrace, Shiney Row, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place.

The 54-year-old victim was said to be walking his puppy in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, when Mr Bell's XL Bully attacked him, inflicting a deadly bite to his neck.

The dog, named as “an American bully XL” called “Titan”, was shot and destroyed at the scene by police.

It was understood at the time that another XL bully was taken away by police for public safety.

Neighbours said Mr Langley, who was originally from Liverpool, was walking his Patterdale puppy called Bow when he was attacked.

The puppy bolted during the attack and managed to escape, with the animal looked after by a neighbour on the estate in the aftermath of the attack.

Read more: Family of missing hiker appeal to tourists who handed in his backpack after vanishing on the Giant’s Causeway

Read more: Two Metropolitan Police officers charged with sexually assaulting woman while off duty

At the time, Michael Kennedy, also from Shiney Row, said he had known Mr Langley for more than 20 years, and said many people knew him simply as “Scouse”.

He said: “He was a really nice lad, he came from Liverpool, he was a lovable rogue you might say.”

Mr Kennedy added: “He never did any harm, he was not a violent person, he wasn't a hard man, he wasn't the type to go looking for trouble.

“He was really thin, he would have no chance against a big dog.”

In a video shared on social media last year, an armed police officer stood on ladders to reach over a fence into a yard and shoot the animal from the road.

Bell will now be sentenced on January 27.