XL Bully owner pleads guilty over dog attack which left Shiney Row dad dead
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA man has admitted being the owner of an XL bully which killed a dad while dangerously out of control.
Ian Langley, 54, died in hospital after being attacked by Christopher Bell's dog, Titan, outside a house on Maple Terrace, in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on October 3 last year. During an appearance at Newcastle Crown Court, Bell pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control which caused injury resulting in death.
Bell, 45, will be sentenced on January 27 next year. Judge Robert Adams told him: "You have pleaded guilty and will get credit for that at the time of sentence. I'm ordering a pre-sentence report but in doing so I'm giving no indication about sentence - all options will be open to the court on that occasion."
Bell was further released on bail with two conditions, which are to cooperate with the preparation of a pre-sentence report and to have his home at Coltman Street, Hull, as a correspondence address.
Since Mr Langley's death, XL Bully dogs have become a banned breed. On December 31 last year it became illegal to rehome, breed or sell an XL Bully dog. And on February 1 this year it became illegal to own an XL Bully without an exemption certificate. For owners to keep their dog they must obtain public liability insurance, and have it microchipped, muzzled in public and neutered.
Join our Court & Crime WhatsApp community
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp community for all the latest court and crime news sent direct to your phone.
In this private group, you can expect the day's top court and crime stories, including breaking news and live blogs
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, affiliate content, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.