Gran, 68, died of 'insurmountable' injuries after being mauled by his son-in-law's XL bullies, inquest heard
A GRAN suffered “insurmountable” injuries after being mauled by her son-in-law's two XL Bullies, an inquest heard today.
Esther Martin68, was looking after her grandson in Jaywick, Essex, when dogs Bear and Beauty attacked her.
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An inquest into her death revealed how the grandmother suffered 'insurmountable' injuries on February 3 horror.
The cause of death was given as “dog bite wounds to the upper right corner”.
Esther reportedly tried to separate the dogs as they fought before they turned on her.
The animals were destroyed on the spot and later confirmed to be XL Bullies.
Lincoln Brookes, senior coroner for Essex, adjourned the inquest pending the outcome of the investigation Police research.
He said: “May I extend my deepest condolences to Mrs Martin's family on what is certainly an extremely tragic death of a loved one.”
Dangerous dog law explained
After eleven horrific attacks in 1991, Home Secretary Kenneth Baker vowed to “rid the country of the menace of these fighting dogs” by introducing the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The law is often considered controversial because it focuses on a dog's breed or appearance rather than an individual dog's behavior, and fails to curb the rise of dog attacks.
According to the RSPCAMore than a third of people killed by dogs since the law was introduced were attacked by legal breeds.
From December 31 last year, it became illegal under the law to sell, breed or give away XL Bully dogs.
From February 1, it became illegal in England and Wales to own an XL Bully dog without an exemption certificate.
Anyone who owns an XL Bully and does not adhere to the strict rules will have their dog removed and risk prosecution and a criminal record.
It comes after a spate of deadly attacks, with 11 deaths linked to XL bullies in just three years.
The two adults dogs It is said they launched their attack in the back room as her shocked grandson fled property to raise the alarm.
Both animals belonged to Esther's son-in-law Ashley Warren.
The attack came just days after a ban on XL Bully type dogs came into effect.
Warren, who previously described the rules as “a joke,” has since called for the rules race being “wiped out”.
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