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Clifford Clarke dog death: Norris Green women admit offences Clifford Clarke dog death: Liverpool women admit guilt
(35 minutes later)
Two women whose dog mauled a 79-year-old man to death in Liverpool have admitted allowing the attack to happen. Two women whose dog mauled a 79-year-old man to death in his own garden have admitted allowing the attack to happen.
Hayley Sulley, 30, and Della Woods, 29, were charged after Clifford Clarke was attacked by the dog in his garden. Hayley Sulley, 30, and Della Woods, 29, were charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) after Clifford Clarke was attacked by their pet in Liverpool.
The pair, of Swallowhurst Crescent, Norris Green, admitted allowing their dog to enter a non-public place and subsequently cause injury, in May 2013. The city's crown court heard he was set upon after he opened his back door to air the kitchen after cooking food.
They were prosecuted under the Dangerous Dogs Act (1991) and are due to be sentenced on 3 June. Gary Simpson from the CPS described it as a "vicious attack on a defenceless man powerless to fight back".
Liverpool Crown Court heard Mr Clarke was attacked by the bull mastiff crossed with "either a Presa Canario or a Bandog", a breed not on the banned list covered by the legislation. Sulley and Woods, from Norris Green, admitted allowing their dog to enter a non-public place and subsequently cause injury, in May 2013.
'Dragged on floor' They are due to be sentenced on 3 June.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court Mr Clarke was attacked after he opened his back door to air the kitchen while he cooked food. 'Heard screaming'
Woods and Sulley's dog Charlie, which carried out the attack, and another dog had escaped from their garden and gone into the retired hospital porter's garden, said the CPS. The court heard Mr Clarke was attacked by the bull mastiff crossed with "either a Presa Canario or a Bandog", a breed not on the banned list covered by the legislation.
Neighbours reported seeing the dog behaving dangerously, said the CPS, and one called the police when he heard screaming coming from Mr Clarke's garden. Woods' and Sulley's dog Charlie, which carried out the attack, and another dog had escaped from their garden and gone into the retired hospital porter's garden, said the Crown Prosecution Service.
The CPS said the same neighbour then saw the pensioner on the floor being dragged and mauled by one of the dogs. A neighbour called the police when he heard screaming coming from Mr Clarke's garden, in the Clubmoor area of the city.
The CPS said the same neighbour then saw the pensioner on the floor being dragged and mauled.
Mr Simpson said: "The defendants' failure to make sure the dog was cared for and under control has led to a man's death and they must now come to terms with that."
Sulley and Woods also pleaded guilty to three offences of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by an act or failure to act.Sulley and Woods also pleaded guilty to three offences of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog by an act or failure to act.
These charges were brought after tests showed the dog had not been fed or watered adequately for several hours before the attack, the CPS said. It was destroyed after the attack. These charges were brought after tests showed the dog had not been fed or watered adequately for several hours before the attack, the CPS said. It was destroyed after the attack.
Tougher laws are being introduced in England and Wales raising the maximum jail sentence for the owner of a dog that kills someone, from two to 14 years.Tougher laws are being introduced in England and Wales raising the maximum jail sentence for the owner of a dog that kills someone, from two to 14 years.
The maximum sentence for a dog attack resulting in someone's death would be the same as that for death caused by dangerous driving, under the proposals.The maximum sentence for a dog attack resulting in someone's death would be the same as that for death caused by dangerous driving, under the proposals.