A man has been arrested and a dog seized after reports a three-year-old girl was bitten in the face, police have said.
Merseyside officers were called to Newtown Gardens, outside the Market Tavern pub, in Kirkby, northeast of Liverpool, on Saturday afternoon following a report a dog had attacked a child.
The toddler was taken to hospital for treatment of her injuries, thought to be serious but not life-threatening.
Police attended and seized the dog, which will be examined in order to determine the breed.
A 31-year-old man from Ormskirk has been arrested on suspicion of affray and having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place.
He has been taken into custody to be questioned.
Read more: Two XL bully dogs shot dead after killing 22 pregnant sheep
Chief Inspector Jim Wilde said: “This was a horrific attack which has left a young girl receiving hospital treatment for significant injuries to her face.
“I want to reassure people that she is currently receiving the best possible care and treatment for her injuries at Alder Hey, and we hope she makes a speedy recovery.
“We seized the dog at the scene, which will now be humanely destroyed, and extensive efforts are now under way to establish exactly what happened.”
Police said the area was busy at the time and, while they have spoken to a number of witnesses, they are still appealing for more to come forward.
A couple whose Siberian husky dog mauled their three-month-old daughter to death have been spared jail.
Vince King and Karen Alcock’s female dog, named Blizzard, killed Kyra King in woodland on 6 March 2022.
The animal, one of 19 kept by the pair, jumped into the front of the couple’s van and out of the passenger door before mauling Kyra while she slept in her pram, Lincoln Crown Court heard.
King and Alcock had earlier been racing the dogs in Lincolnshire.
The dog, which will be put down, left Kyra with multiple head and neck injuries.
The parents performed CPR on the baby in an attempt to revive her.
Handing the pair suspended sentences on Monday, Judge Sjolin Knight said the incident resulted from a “tragic conjunction of circumstances”.
She said: “This is a tragic case, and I have no doubt that both of you wish every day you could wind the clock back so that incident never happened.
“There was nothing to trigger [Blizzard’s] attack on Kyra, but on this occasion she was dangerously out of control.
“Dog ownership is a privilege and for many a pleasure, but it comes with a heavy burden under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
“[Blizzard] did an awful thing which neither of you expected and will weigh heavily upon you for the rest of your lives.
“I don’t believe that this incident was reasonably foreseeable but believe it was a momentary lapse of an otherwise good system.
“It is appropriate to suspend both sentences.”
Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, told the court that the defendants were experienced dog owners and regularly raced the animals, which were used for sport in sledging teams, rather than being domestic pets.
King, 55, had raced dogs for 20 years after working in the military and also bred huskies.
On the day of the incident he had taken his dogs out for a practice run on a well-known route about three miles long.
Alcock, a 41-year-old veterinary nurse, had been with King since 2019 and accompanied him on the racing runs, with the pair working “as a team”.
Kyra had been taken along for the runs from just five days old and was described by the judge as a “very much wanted and loved baby”.
After racing seven dogs in Ostler’s Plantation, an area of woodland near Woodhall Spa, King returned to his van to swap the sledging teams over, with Blizzard leading the first team.
Image: Karen Alcock (left), arriving at Lincoln Crown Court
The dogs were transported in a van, the rear of which had been modified to contain lockable cages, and after her practice run, Blizzard was put inside the van to drink.
The dog attacked Kyra after leaping over the partition separating the cages from the van’s front seats.
Despite the efforts of King and Alcock, Kyra was pronounced dead at the scene and the pair were arrested.
Blizzard had been bought by King six years earlier, had been racing for three years and was pregnant at the time, Mr Janes said.
Alcock later said the dog had escaped two weeks before the incident and called her an “escape artist”, while King described her as “very energetic and eager to run, but not aggressive”.
Read more UK news: Two men stabbed in homophobic attack Shocking footage of dangerous behaviour on level crossings
Mr Janes said Kyra suffered “horrific” injuries, adding that the incident “could have been reasonably foreseen” and “should have been on the defendants’ minds”.
King pleaded guilty to being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death, on the first day of his trial on 1 June and has no relevant previous convictions.
Alcock admitted the same charge on 23 December last year and has a previous police caution for being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, when a spaniel bit a child’s trousers after it had been sat on.
King was given a 10-month sentence, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.
Alcock was given an eight-month sentence, also suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Knight stopped short of banning the pair from owning dogs.
A 24-year-old man has suffered “life-changing” facial injuries following a dog attack in Edinburgh.
Police are searching for the dog and its owner and say the victim was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.
The incident happened near to the junction between Drum Brae South and Duart Crescent at around 8.10pm on Thursday.
Detective Constable Stephen Nelson said: “The injured man suffered life-changing facial injuries due to this dog attack.
“Our enquiries into the circumstances of what happened are under way and we are reviewing CCTV in effort to trace the owner and dog.”
DC Nelson said officers are keen to speak to anyone who knows of a large dog in the area, as well as motorists who may have dashcam footage that could help.
He added: “Please check the footage, as it may have captured something which could prove vital to our ongoing enquiries.
“Any small piece of information could assist our enquiries, so please pass it on.”
A man has been charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act in connection with the death of another man at a house in Derby.
Wayne Stevens, 51, died after the incident at around 5.50am on Saturday in the Cavendish area of the city.
The dog was shot because it posed a risk to officers and to the public, police said.
Gary Stevens, 53, of Cameron Road, Derby, has been charged with being the person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death.
He will appear at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
The force said: “Formal identification has taken place, and the victim has been named as 51-year-old Wayne Stevens.
“Our thoughts remain with his family and friends at this time.”
Farmer Oliver East is losing sheep to deadly dog attacks every week.
This winter alone, more than 20 of his sheep have been killed – the last attack only days ago.
Mr East, from Buckinghamshire, told Sky News he discovered one of his ewes dead near a footpath.
“It’s back legs were severely mauled, it had its ears pulled off, and its throat was pulled out,” he said.
“It’s becoming a weekly occurrence, if not twice a week now.”
Not only do these incidents carry an emotional impact, but they also have significant financial implications.
Increasing numbers of deadly dog attacks on livestock are forcing farmers to “change the way they live and farm”, leading rural insurer NFU Mutual has warned, costing the industry millions of pounds a year.
Mr East estimates that with each sheep that is killed, he loses £500.
“If it carries on the way it is going, I am already looking at potentially downsizing my ewe flock, which is already a financial loss to me,” he said.
“I just can’t mentally and physically go through losing this many ewes. It’s mentally debilitating.”
Image: Dog attacks on sheep cost British farmers millions a year
‘Harrowing’ incidents cost industry millions
Even attacks that don’t lead to death can be distressing.
The stress of being chased by dogs can cause death, and can result in pregnant ewes aborting their lambs.
Dog attacks on livestock cost the industry more than a million pounds every year.
Last year, the cost of dog attacks on livestock cost £1.8m, up from £1.3m in 2020, according to NFU Mutual data.
Rebecca Davidson, NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist, told Sky News: “Sadly, we hear harrowing accounts of these types of cases every other day.
“Behind those figures, there’s obviously tremendous concern over for farmers and their livelihoods, also the emotional impact for them.
“Many of them are being forced to change the way they live and farm.”
Read more: What’s behind rise in deadly dog attacks
‘A lot of irresponsible dog owners’
It’s hoped that changes in legislation will be pivotal in helping improve the situation.
In June 2021, the government announced new measures in its Kept Animals Bill to provide police more powers in protecting livestock from dangerous dogs.
If the legislation is passed, police will be able to seize dogs and have more power to enter premises to find culprits.
Rob Taylor, from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, told Sky News: “There’s a lot of livestock out there, a lot of sheep out there, a lot of dogs out there as well, but there are also a lot of irresponsible dog owners.
“Once we can strengthen that law, I think things will fall in place much better.”
A Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “We take the issue of livestock worrying very seriously and recognise the distress this can cause farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications – and the launch of our Action Plan for Animal Welfare will help address this.
“In response to recent reports on the issue, new measures to crack down on livestock worrying in England and Wales will be brought in through the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill.”
Rishi Sunak’s family have been “reminded of the rules” by police after their dog was filmed without a lead on in London’s Hyde Park.
A video shared on social media appeared to show the prime minister’s labrador retriever roaming freely near a lake in the park.
The clip showed a notice board which said: “Dogs must be kept on leads”, before showing Mr Sunak and what appeared to be his wife putting the pet, named Nova, on a leash.
It was shared by a TikTok user who wrote: “Lol, as if Rishi Sunak put his dog on the lead when he saw me filming the sign saying dogs must be on a lead.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “We are aware of a video showing a dog being walked off the lead in Hyde Park.
“An officer, who was present at the time, spoke to a woman and reminded her of the rules. The dog was put back on the lead.”
Image: Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata pictured with their dog in Downing Street. File pic
The Royal Parks website says dogs are welcome in all its parks “although there are some places where they are not allowed or must be kept on a lead”.
It says: “These are clearly indicated within each park and are usually ecologically sensitive sites, deer parks, children’s play areas, restaurants, cafes and some sports areas.”
Downing Street said it would not be commenting on the footage.
A spokesman for the prime minister told reporters: “I’m not going to be commenting on the filming of the prime minister’s family and private individuals.
“You can see the video, it speaks for itself.”
Pressed on whether Mr Sunak would be apologising for breaching the park’s rules, the spokesman replied: “As I say, I’m not going to comment on the video which you’ve seen.”
Image: Pic: HM Treasury/Flickr
The Met said it would have no further involvement in the matter.
It is not the first time Mr Sunak has been contacted by police.
Earlier this year, the prime minister was fined for not wearing a seatbelt while filming a clip on Instagram to promote his levelling-up funding.
Downing Street apologised at the time, saying he “fully accepts this was a mistake”.
Mr Sunak has also been fined by the Met Police for breaking lockdown rules.
He and Mr Johnson were handed fixed penalty notices over a birthday held in Downing Street for the former prime minister when curbs were in place in June 2020.
Police searching for Nicola Bulley have appealed for a “key” witness who they believe was in the area on the morning of the mother-of-two’s disappearance.
The witness is a woman seen pushing a pram on the morning of Friday 27 January, when Ms Bulley went missing.
Officers believe Ms Bulley fell into the River Wyre while she was walking her dog.
Image: Nicola Bulley disappeared on 27 January
However her family and friends have claimed there is “no evidence whatsoever” behind the police’s theory.
The woman was seen walking in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre at around 8.22am.
She is again seen walking just under 20 minutes later at 8.41am.
Read more: What were missing dog walker’s movements before she disappeared?
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “It is believed that the female in question may have walked along the river path during these times and so detectives want to speak to her and urge her to get in touch.”
The force spokesperson added that it was crucial to gather as much footage as possible from the area on that morning to “review every piece meticulously” and establish whether Nicola can be seen.
“We know from the footage we are currently reviewing, that this is a busy road, particularly at that time in the morning,” they added.
“There will be many people who were in that area at the time who may not think they can help, however we would urge you not to make that decision yourself and to come forward so we can have as much material as possible to assist the investigation.”
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2:03
Retracing Nicola Bulley’s journey
Crucial 10-minute window
Ms Bulley, 45, was last seen walking her dog on a footpath by the River Wyre.
Police are focusing their investigation on a crucial 10-minute window when the mortgage advisor’s movements are unaccounted for between 9.10am and 9.20am.
A timeline pieced together by the force found she logged into a work conference call on Microsoft Teams at 9.01am.
Nine minutes later a witness who knows Ms Bulley said they saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow, which was off her lead.
This is the last confirmed sighting of her.
At 9.20am, police believe her phone was left on a bench by the river.
At 9.30am, the work conference call ended but she stayed connected – before her phone was found three minutes later on the bench by another dog walker.
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2:36
‘I don’t know how I am coping’
We will ‘never lose hope’
Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell, vowed to “never lose hope” on Friday, a week after she “vanished into thin air”.
He said he was focused on supporting their daughters, aged six and nine, but added: “I don’t know how I am coping.
“I don’t want to think about that.”
Friends and family told Sky News correspondent Katerina Vittozzi it was “too soon for condolences”, and say they are not ready to accept the police’s theory that Ms Bulley fell into the river.
They have now set up a community search hub at the village tennis club where people are invited to take a map of the local area and try and help.
‘It’s too soon for condolences’ say Nicola Bulley’s friends and family
This is a small Lancashire town in a desperate search, where no one wants to give up looking.
Nicola Bulley’s friends say it’s too soon for condolences, that the police’s theory, that Nicola fell into the river, is not one they can, as yet, accept.
Ms Bulley’s friend, Heather Gibbons, told Sky News: “As far as we are aware, there is no evidence that she is in that water.”
She praised the police for the “incredible” amount of resources devoted to the river, but added: “This is not adding up and it’s not adding up on a huge, huge scale, which makes you think, ‘well then, there has to still be hope’, because we’re missing something, something is not making sense.”
Now Ms Bulley’s friends and family have established a community search hub in the village tennis club, where people can come, take a map of the local area and try and help.
Lal Kilpatrick, a search volunteer who has known the missing mother-of-two for 20 years, said she wanted to help during what she described as a “distressing time for the family”.
Meanwhile strangers are also offering their support, including Lee Ward, who has never met Ms Bulley or her family but felt compelled to help.
“I saw it on the news, it eats you up inside thinking what they are going through,” Mr Ward told Sky News.
For Nicola Bulley’s friends and family, there are still far more questions than answers right now.
The police investigation has been extensive, it has covered 15km of rivers all the way down to the sea but it’s still here, the fields where Nicola was last seen, and where her phone and dog were found, that continues to draw people, all with the same question – what happened that morning?
Specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service have been deployed to assist the search, in addition to sniffer dogs, drones and police helicopters.
A team of detectives have been working to analyse telephone communication, house to house enquiries, CCTV, dashcam footage and other digital enquiries, Lancashire Police said.
Read more: Nicola’s girls are ‘really missing her’, friend reveals Signs and placards displayed in the streets to find missing mum-of-two
‘It’s a very, very odd one’
Forensics search and rescue expert Peter Faulding told Sky News he has been left “mystified” by the “strange” circumstances of Ms Bulley’s disappearance.
Mr Faulding, who has worked on hundreds of cases, said the tidal nature of the River Wye has presented difficulties for police during the search operation.
But he added: “I mean, the phone being found, a bench; normally, if someone would trip, they would have their phone in their hand.
Image: Police officers on the River Wyre, in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire searching for Ms Bulley
“You know, the dog being dry; going after dogs, this is why a lot of people drown. They jump after their dogs.
“But the dog was found dry, so it clearly didn’t go in the river, and that’s what gets my suspicion about this case is it’s a very, very odd one.”
Ms Bulley is described as 5ft 3in tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair, which was tied in a ponytail when she disappeared.
She speaks with an Essex accent and was last seen wearing an ankle-length black quilted gilet, with a black long-sleeved waist-length Vector coat underneath.
She was also wearing tight black jeans, long green walking socks tucked into her jeans and ankle-length green wellington boots from Next.
The mum-of-two was also wearing a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.
Ms Bulley’s family are being supported by specially trained police officers who are keeping them fully updated.
Family and friends of missing woman Nicola Bulley have claimed there is “no evidence whatsoever” behind a police update suggesting the mother-of-two fell into the river.
Officers believe the 45-year-old “sadly” fell into the River Wyre while she was walking her dog last Friday morning but are continuing the search.
It is understood Ms Bulley went missing in just “a 10-minute window” while she was walking her dog, Willow, close to the River Wyre, after dropping off her daughters – aged six and nine – at school.
Search teams from Lancashire Constabulary are continuing to trawl the waterway near St Michael’s.
Ms Bulley’s friend, Emma White, told Sky News that the “police hypothesis is on limited information”.
She said: “When we are talking about a life we can’t base it on a hypothesis – surely we need this factual evidence.
“That’s what the family and all of us are holding on to – that we are sadly no further on than last Friday.
“We still have no evidence, and that’s why we’re out together in force.
“You don’t base life on a hypothesis.”
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2:03
Retracing Nicola Bulley’s journey
Meanwhile, Ms Bulley’s sister Louise Cunningham shared a Facebook post urging people to carry on the search and to “keep an open mind”.
She said: “Off the back of the latest Police media update, please can I add there is no evidence whatsoever that she has gone into the river, it’s just a theory.
“Everyone needs to keep an open mind as not all cctv and leads have been investigated fully, the police confirmed the case is far from over.”
Ms Bulley’s friend Ms White also dismissed the theory that she may have tried to retrieve a tennis ball from the river while playing with her dog Willow.
“Willow loved using a tennis ball very much, but it used to disturb their walk so they haven’t had a tennis ball since last year”.
“There was definitely no ball,” she added.
Image: Police have speculated that Nicola Bulley had an issue with her dog, Willow.
Police have urged the public to look out along the river for the items of clothing that Ms Bulley was last seen wearing.
This includes an ankle-length black quilted gilet jacket, a black Engelbert Strauss waist-length coat, tight-fitting black jeans, long green walking socks, ankle-length green Next wellies, a necklace and a pale blue Fitbit.
Image: Specialist search teams from Lancashire Police, beside the bench (top left) where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found
Search teams are also being helped by specialists and divers from HM Coastguard, mountain rescue, and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service – with sniffer dogs, drones, and police helicopters also being used.
Read more: Police vow to bring missing mum home as they urge search teams to scour river bank for clothes Police believe missing dog walker fell into river as investigation focuses on 10-minute window Nicola Bulley’s friends given new hope after ‘influx of calls’ to police
Image: Police officers on the River Wyre, in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, as the search continues
Detectives are also analysing CCTV and dashcam videos, and members of the public with footage which could be useful have been urged to come forward.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Superintendent Sally Riley said there may have been an “issue with the dog that led her to the water’s edge, she puts her phone down to go and deal with the dog momentarily, and Nicola may have fallen in”.
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0:57
Supt Sally Riley said officers believe Nicola Bulley fell into the River Wyre
However, Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell, 44, said he would “never lose hope” of finding her.
“We’re never, ever going to lose hope, of course we’re not, but it is as though she has vanished into thin air. It’s just insane,” he said.
The 44-year-old said his “whole focus is my two girls” and that he was “hoping to goodness” that people would come forward with new information.
Police say they believe Nicola Bulley “sadly” fell into a river as they focus on a 10-minute window from 9.10am to 9.20am when the dog walker went missing last Friday.
Officers said the mother-of-two has not been found despite an extensive search of the area, along the River Wyre and 15km to the sea.
Police said an unprecedented amount of resources had gone into the search for Ms Bulley.
Image: Nicola Bulley
The 45-year-old was last seen on 27 January at about 9.10am on a path by the River Wyre in the Lancashire village of St Michael’s on Wyre.
Her phone was found on a bench still connected to a work call, while her springer spaniel dog was running loose.
Live updates from the police news conference
A search is continuing, with Ms Bulley’s friends retracing her route earlier on Friday – marking a week from her disappearance.
Her partner, Paul Ansell, has said he will “never lose hope”.
He also said he kept playing “every scenario” in his head “around and around” and that his focus was on supporting their two young daughters.
Mr Ansell said: “I don’t know how I am coping. I don’t want to think about that. I am just focused on the girls.”
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2:41
‘I don’t know how I am coping’
He went on: “We’re never, ever going to lose hope, of course we’re not, but it is as though she has vanished into thin air.”
Ms Bulley, a mortgage adviser, had dropped her daughters, aged six and nine, at school shortly before she vanished.
