DOG ATTACK
Gran, 68, died from ‘unsurvivable’ injuries after being mauled by son-in-law’s XL Bullies, inquest told
Esther Martin was looking after grandson when the dogs turned on her
A GRAN suffered "unsurvivable" injuries after being mauled by her son-in-law's two XL Bullies, an inquest heard today.
Esther Martin, 68, was looking after her grandson in Jaywick, Essex, when dogs Bear and Beauty attacked her.
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An inquest into her death heard how the grandmother suffered "unsurvivable" injuries in the February 3 horror.
A cause of death was given as "dog bite wounds to the upper right limb".
Esther was reportedly trying to break up the dogs as they fought before they turned on her.
The animals were destroyed at the scene and later confirmed to be XL Bullies.
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Lincoln Brookes, senior coroner for Essex, suspended the inquest pending the outcome of the police investigation.
He said: "May I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Ms Martin on what on any view is an extremely tragic death of a loved one."
Dangerous Dogs Act explained
After eleven horrific attacks in 1991, Home Secretary Kenneth Baker promised "to rid the country of the menace of these fighting dogs" by introducing the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The law is often considered controversial as it focuses on a dog's breed or looks instead of an individual dog's behaviour, and fails to stem the rise of dog attacks.
According to the RSPCA, over a third of the people killed by dogs since the act was brought in were attacked by legal breeds.
As of December 31 last year, it became illegal to sell, breed or give away XL Bully dogs under the Act.
From February 1, it became illegal to own an XL Bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
Anyone found in possession of an XL Bully and is not meeting the strict rules will have their dog taken away and face prosecution and a criminal record.
It comes after a spate of fatal attacks, which saw 11 deaths linked to XL Bullies in just three years.
The two adult dogs are said to have launched their attack in the back room as her horrified grandson fled the property to raise the alarm.
Both beasts belonged to Esther's son-in-law Ashley Warren.
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The attack came just days after a ban on XL Bully type dogs came into force.
Warren, who previously described the rules as “a joke”, has since begged for the breed to be "wiped out".
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