Britain:The owner of a "pit bull-type dog" that killed a five-year-old girl in the early hours of yesterday was warned to keep his pet under control seven months ago, it emerged last night.
Ellie Lawrenson died in the living room of her grandmother's house on a quiet estate on the edge of St Helens in Merseyside, north-west England, after choosing to remain there rather than return home with her parents who had been out celebrating.
A spokeswoman for St Helens council said a council dog warden had written to the dog's owner, named locally as Ellie's uncle, Keele Simpson, last May after a complaint by a neighbour about an attack on another dog.
Last night a 69-year-old man claimed he was attacked by the dog, Reuben, in September last year but managed to hold it at bay with his walking stick. The neighbour, who did not want to be named, told the Press Association he had reported the attack to the police and dog wardens, who later visited the owner's home.
Police were last night trying to establish why Mr Simpson's dog turned on Ellie; it remains unclear whether she was asleep at the time of the attack. Her grandmother, Jackie Simpson (46) tried to pull the dog off Ellie and suffered serious injuries to her arms and legs.
She managed to drag the dog out of the house and into a fenced-off area where it was later shot by a police officer.
Last night a police spokeswoman said police and council officials were trying to establish whether the animal had a violent history. She said: "We think we were aware of the report of the dog attacking another dog in May but we're not aware of any report from September. And we've come across no mention of the animal attacking a person." It is understood that officers called to the scene were later sent home after witnessing the child's injuries. Detectives are investigating whether any offences have been committed under the UK's Dangerous Dogs Act.
Most neighbours on the estate said they knew nothing of the attack until they read about it in a letter sent out by police early yesterday.
Ms Simpson called the emergency services at 4.30am. "When officers arrived at the scene it became apparent from a very early stage that the girl had tragically died as a result of the attack," said Supt Jon Ward.
- (Guardian service)