“It’s time we muzzled all dogs”

The dad of a dog attack victim has called for mandatory muzzling in public places.

David Bell’s daughter Sophia, five, was mauled on Irvine Beach, Ayrshire, by a former guard dog last July.

The attack resulted in the girl’s arm being ripped open by the Labrador crossbreed.

David was shocked to hear of the latest death in Northampton and is adamant urgent action is needed to prevent future tragedies.

He said: “Attacks like this make headline news three or four times a year. That’s shockingly high people need to be treated as being responsible each and every time and have to be prosecuted.

“There needs to be several preventative measures introduced, with muzzling being one I’m particularly in favour of.”

Sophia was enjoying a day in the sun with her family when the terrifying attack took place. The dog responsible had been a rescued pet adopted by its new family just two weeks earlier. They’d been told that it used to be a guard dog and should be on a lead and muzzled when around children, neither of which it was at the time it attacked Sophia.

The attack left the girl, who was four at the time, with an arm “that looked like it was going to fall off”.

David, 36, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, added: “I can’t speak for everyone, but even when I’m out in the park with our dog, I still see others which are overly aggressive and capable of causing real harm.

“Muzzling each of those would be a simple and effective measure to take, as then the worse they can do is knock a child over.”