Owner of vicious XL Bullys which savaged man, 52, boasted beast was a ‘mean-looking f***er’ before fatal attack

THE OWNER of the vicious XL Bullys which mauled a man to death boasted his dog was a "mean-looking f***er" before the frenzied attack.

Ian Price was killed as he raced to protect his mum from the two ferocious pets.

Price dashed to 89-year-old Beryl Price’s house opposite his when the brutes escaped from  a ground-floor flat into her front garden.

Neighbours told how the  XL Bullys tore into Ian, 52, in a “frenzy” as a neighbour tried to batter them with sticks.

Armed police and a dog unit raced to Stonnall, Staffs, just after 3pm on Thursday.

Repairman and Aston Villa fan Ian was flown to hospital in Birmingham where he died that ­evening — the sixth person killed in a dog attack in England this year.

Yesterday PM Rishi Sunak pledged to outlaw the breed by the end of the year, saying: “It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a ­pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.”

One of the pets that attacked Ian died after being throttled with a   dogcatcher pole.

The other was restrained and later given a lethal injection at the consent of its owner, a 30-year-old amateur boxer.

He has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and having dogs dangerously out of control.

He was this morning released on bail.

Their owner’s Facebook page features a photo of his child in front of the pets, one of each sex, which are  on a sofa.

He describes one as a “mean-looking f***er”. Other photos on his social media  show  puppies of the same breed but different colours.

Villagers said he turned up in his van with his child just as dozens of police vehicles arrived.

A witness said: “It was so awful I can barely talk about it, but Ian was mauled to death and it was just horrendous.”

She added: “The dogs have been there about a year.

“They got through the hedge behind the house and appeared in the elderly lady’s garden.

"Her son has gone out to protect her.

“We think the dogs were at home on their own because there were no cars outside. I guess they escaped through a window.

“Both dogs set on him. Neighbours came to help but many stood  this side of the fence because they were too frightened to get involved.

“One brave man got a big stick and was hitting the dogs but they just took no notice. They were in a frenzy.”

Her husband added: “We can’t get our heads around it.

"This is a beautiful, quiet little village.

“If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere.”

A nearby school, St Peter’s Primary Academy, went into lockdown and pupils  were kept inside for their safety.

One brave man got a big stick and was hitting the dogs but they just took no notice. They were in a frenzy

Witness

The fatal attack comes after footage shared online showed an XL Bully attacking a girl, 11, and two men in Bordesley, Birmingham, last Saturday.

Mr Sunak said he shared the nation’s horror at the attacks. He has ordered ­ministers to bring together police and experts to  define the breed behind the  attacks so they can then be outlawed.

The Prime Minister added: “We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and laws will be in place by the end of the year.

These dogs are ­dangerous, I want to reassure the public we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman added: “This tragedy underlines the need to ban the American XL Bully.

They are a threat to life and cause misery in our communities.”

It was claimed the dogs which killed Ian escaped from their home around six months ago and burst into a nearby  grocery store.

A shop worker said: “It was ­terrifying, and it was all reported to the police.”

Victim Ian was married to Heather, 50, for 20 years.

They have a son at university and a daughter, 17, plus two dogs — with Ian sharing  snaps.

In July he shared a plea to name and shame an attacker filmed  punching and kicking a puppy.

Ian fixed doors and cracks in walls as boss of his own business Belle Arti, which he set up in 2018.

The family live opposite Ian’s mum who has a ground-floor flat with a front garden.

The dog owner has lived in the flat next door for around a year with his partner and child. Locals claim he often leaves his window open while out.

One said: “It’s not the first time this has happened.

“About six months ago they escaped and chased another dog into the Premier shop. The owner and customers hid behind the counter before the dogs left.

“These are big, muscular dogs. They say the dogs are only as good as their owners and these were bred for aggression.”

A neighbour named only as Matt, 43, told how Ian was a “lovely guy”.

He added: “We were both Aston Villa supporters and used to chat over the fence. I’m still in shock  and   have a lot of anger in me.

"It could have been me, my wife or any of us in the village.”

Matt was away in Cheshire at the time of the attack.

He added: “As we passed the Royal Oak pub I heard a man say to an officer, ‘I won’t be able to eat or sleep for the next few weeks after what I saw today’.”

Staffordshire Police said the dogs were believed to be XL Bullys but  tests are being carried out to determine their breed.

These are big, muscular dogs. They say the dogs are only as good as their owners and these were bred for aggression

Local resident

A No10 spokesman said: “We’ve obviously been doing some policy work on this and you heard from the Home Secretary recently about how to take this forward.

"Clearly this breed isn’t defined in law so it’s right to take the time to consider the best way to put an end to these horrendous attacks.”

There is expected to be an amnesty period which could last roughly a year for XL Bully owners to apply to keep their dog by showing they fulfil certain conditions.

Any dogs which have not passed after the amnesty period will be put down.

During the amnesty, the dogs could also be subject to restrictions such as being neutered, muzzled and kept on leads.