Man charged over death of 'kind' dad-of-one killed by XL bully 'while walking beloved puppy'
by Flaminia Luck · LBCBy Flaminia Luck
A man has been charged in connection with the death of Ian Langley, who was killed by an XL bully dog in Sunderland last year, Northumbria Police said.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The 54-year-old was taken to hospital after being attacked by the dog outside a property on Maple Terrace in Shiney Row on October 3 last year. He sadly later died from his injuries.
Christopher Bell, 45, of De La Pole Avenue, Hull, has been charged with being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.
He will appear at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on October 18.
The dog, an XL bully breed, was killed at the scene.
Known affectionately by friends and family as 'Scouse', Ian was attacked outside his home while he was walking his Patterdale terrier puppy Beau.
"It's absolutely devastating that this has happened to him, he is a lovely, kind man," a friend of Ian, Rachael Barron, 31, said.
"He's very slight of build and could not hurt a fly, he would have stood no chance against a dog as big as that, it makes me feel sick to think about it.
"I don't know exactly what has happened but if another dog was trying to get at Beau, Scouse would have done anything to protect him.
"We have been devastated, I haven't even been able to tell the kids yet, they will be so upset. Everyone knew and liked him, he was a lovely guy."
Another friend said: "He didn’t deserve to die. He was a canny lad. He was friendly. It’s a tragedy.”
Man mauled by XL Bully in Sunderland
The dogs were banned from February 1 2024 unless an owner applies for an exemption before the end of January.
That allows them to keep their pet as long as they are willing to comply with strict conditions and get them neutered by the end of June unless they are younger than one, in which case they must get the operation done by the end of the year.
Otherwise, the dogs will need to be put down.
They must also always remain muzzled and on a lead when outside.
The NPCC said the popularity of the breed correlated with an almost seven-fold increase in the number of fatal dog attacks since 2021.
Before 2021, police were recording an average of three deaths following dog attacks per year. Between 2021-2023, that rose to 23.
Read more: Did somebody say..? Just Eat announces plans to start delivering sex toys and lingerie to customers
Hannah Molloy, an animal behaviourist at Amplified Behaviour, told LBC's Nick Ferrari that poorer areas have a higher rate of dog attacks.
She added that in contrast to news reports of people being attacked on the streets, said that most people are getting bitten at home and are "getting bitten by dogs they know".
Ms Molloy also said that she thought the XL bully ban would not be effective, because people would just breed other kinds of dangerous dog.
Expert questions why a ban on XL bully dogs doesn't target owners