An elderly woman was mauled to death in her garden yesterday by two escaped dogs.
The victim, who was in her 80s, suffered fatal injuries when the ‘dangerously out of control’ animals – believed to be pit bulls – cornered and attacked her.
An air ambulance was dispatched and landed near her home but she was confirmed dead at the scene.
A 43-year-old man was detained on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. Officers said he was being kept in custody last night for questioning.
Armed police swooped on the pensioner’s property after they were alerted to the incident in Rowley Regis, a town west of Birmingham, at around 3.20pm.
A vet had raced to the scene armed with a tranquiliser to sedate the animals, which have since been seized to establish their breed.
Police said the dogs did not belong to the woman, but managed to get into her garden before attacking her. A neighbour said they had heard there was a broken fence that the animals managed to pass through and maul the woman to death.
Two armed police officers carry an orange bag holding the body of a dog, following a vet holding a tranquilliser gun, after an 80-year-old woman was killed by two dogs in her back garden in Rowley Regis, a town west of Birmingham
Pictured: Two officers carry the second presumably tranquillised dog in an orange bag towards an open van outside
Armed officers outside a home in Rowley Regis, West Midlands, where a woman in her 80s was attacked and killed by two escaped dogs. A 43-year-old man has been arrested
Police at the scene in Rowely Regis, West Midlands, on April 2 2021. Police said the woman ‘sustained dog bite injuries’, but noted that a post mortem examination would take place soon to establish the cause of death
Police said she ‘sustained dog bite injuries’, but noted that a post mortem examination would take place soon to establish the cause of death.
Pictures from the scene on Friday evening showed a large presence of armed police officers outside a home, as well as a vet carrying a tranquilliser gun.
One neighbour told The Sun: ‘I think from what I’ve heard there was a broken fence and they’ve escaped through to there and mauled her to death.
‘It’s just horrible what’s happened I didn’t know her personally but it’s terrible.’
Another said: ‘It’s just horrific what’s happened and we’re so shocked if she’s an elderly lady in her 80s she would have stood no chance.’
Two dogs have also been seized, the police said, and they would be examined to determine their breed.
A rescue helicopter was spotted at the scene, and an air ambulance had landed in nearby Britannia Park while police cordoned off the road.
Police at the scene in Rowely Regis, West Midlands. There was a large presence of police at the scene following the incident
A vet arrives at the home in Rowley Regis with a tranquilliser gun, and is seen running towards the home past police vehicles
Armed police are seen leaving the home of the woman who was killed by two escaped dogs. The breed of the dogs is yet to be determined
Pictures from the scene showed a vet and assistants preparing a tranquilliser gun outside the house
A vet was seen leaving through the property along with armed officers carrying orange body bags used to hold the two dogs.
Forensic officers were also said to be at the scene, along with two police vehicles with dogs inside, reports said.
Passersby were urged to avoid the area in the town where pictures showed several emergency vehicles parked on the street.
Armed police and forensic officers leave the house, two of whom are seen carrying the sedated body of a dog
Pictured left: An armed police officer is seen leading other officers out of the home of the woman to an open van. Right: Police officers walk down the side of the house in Rowley Regis
The house in the West Midlands where the woman was attacked by the two dogs, cordoned off by armed police
A woman has been killed after being attacked by two escaped dogs that got into her garden in the West Midlands on Friday, the police have said. Pictured: The police presence on the scene on Boundary Avenue, Rowley Regis, a town west of Birmingham
A police presence will remain at the scene as officers work to establish the events leading to the woman’s death, West Midlands Police said
There were also pictures that showed an air ambulance landing in a nearby field.
A police presence will remain at the scene as officers work to establish the events leading to the woman’s death, West Midlands Police said.
‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the woman at this deeply distressing time,’ the police statement concluded.
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