16/05/2007

Uncle jailed for owning killer dog

The uncle of a girl who died after being mauled by his dog has been jailed for eight weeks.

Kiel Simpson, 23, had pleaded guilty to owning a pit bull - banned under the Dangerous Dog Act - last month.

Ellie Lawrenson, Simpson's five-year-old niece, died after being mauled by the dog at her grandmother's home in St Helens in Merseyside on New Year's Day.

She suffered severe head and neck injuries in the attack.

A police marksman destroyed the dog after the attack.

At an earlier hearing, the court heard how the dog had previously bitten Simpson's 19-year-old sister Kelsey, requiring her to have hospital treatment for wounds to her thigh.

The dog had also been involved in an attack on a neighbour's Jack Russell.

Michael Fogarty, defending, said that Simpson felt "morally responsible" for Ellie's death and "wanted to crawl into a hole".

Passing sentence at Liverpool Magistrates' Court, District Judge Alan Jones said: "I don't accept that a police officer or any person giving advice would have said it was enough to keep the dog muzzled and on a lead in public if you properly told them what type of dog it was.

"This is a dog of a type nobody has been allowed to possess for the last 15 years, and for good reasons."

Ellie's grandmother, Jacqueline Simpson, was charged with unlawful killing by gross negligence, as well as possession of heroin, last month. She was bailed until August 10 and a provisional trial date has been set for September 3.

(KMcA/SP)

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