Leicestershire dog attack: Death toll from dangerous pets keeps rising

The death of a young girl in Leicester comes after a spate of similar attacks involving out-of-control dogs in recent years.

In May, Clifford Clarke, 79, was killed in a dog attack in his garden in Liverpool. The retired hospital porter suffered fatal injuries after being mauled by a bull mastiff cross that is reported to have found a way into Mr Clarke's garden from a neighbouring house.

The dogs were shot and killed by armed officers and two women from the area, aged 27 and 28, were arrested and bailed on suspicion of manslaughter.

In March, Jade Anderson, 14, was mauled to death by four dogs while visiting her friend near Wigan.

The girl was discovered by armed police at a friend's house in Chaucer Grove, Atherton, amid a pack of aggressive dogs. The animals, who were not on the list of breeds banned by the Dangerous Dogs Act, were put down after the incident.

The owner of the animals, mother-of-one Beverley Concannon, 45, was given a suspended 16-week sentence for animal cruelty at Wigan magistrates court last month.

In November last year, 71-year-old Gloria Knowles died after being attacked by a pack of dogs that she had gone to feed.

The great grandmother was found dead with multiple injuries at a house with five dogs in Morden, south London.

Police said the animals - two Bordeaux bulldogs, two American bulldogs and a mongrel - were not banned breeds. Mrs Knowles is believed to have been feeding the pet dogs belonging to her daughter when she was mauled.

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In March 2011, Jude Keir, nine, suffered severe head injuries when he was mauled by a dog outside his school in Scotland.

The young boy needed 40 stitches and is said to have only survived because two people dragged the dog off him. The attack by a Staffordshire bull terrier occurred at Woodhead Primary School in Hamilton.

In November 2009, Four-year-old John-Paul Massey died after suffering multiple injuries when he was savaged by the family pet at his grandmother's home in November 2009.

The animal, named Uno, was an illegal pitbull-type dog belonging to his uncle, Christian Foulkes, who was jailed four four months after he admitted to owning the animal. John-Paul's grandmother Helen Foulkes's admitted keeping a dangerous dog and was given a four-month jail term, suspended for 18 months.