Yaxley dog attack death: Baby died of brain injury

Reuben McNulty was just two weeks old when he was attacked

A newborn baby who was attacked by the family's Staffordshire bull terrier died from "catastrophic injuries", an inquest has heard.

Reuben McNulty was just two weeks old when he was attacked at a property in Wykes Road, Yaxley, near Peterborough, on 18 November.

He died in hospital three weeks later.

Opening and adjourning the inquest, the coroner said Reuben sustained a traumatic brain injury and renal and gastrointestinal failure.

His injuries were "consistent with a dog attack", David Heming, Cambridgeshire's senior coroner told the inquest.

Reuben "suffered catastrophic injuries... as a result of being attacked by his parents' Staffordshire bull terrier at their home address", he added.

Reuben's parents Daniel McNulty and Amy Litchfield are believed to have been questioned by police

Two Staffordshire bull terriers were seized and destroyed, Cambridgeshire Police confirmed last month.

Reuben's parents, Daniel McNulty and Amy Litchfield, are believed to have been questioned by police.

A 28-year-old woman and a man, aged 31, from Yaxley, were arrested on suspicion of child neglect at the time of the attack, and have been released while investigations continue, police said.

Officers said Reuben's death was not being treated as suspicious.

The inquest was opened earlier in Huntingdon and adjourned for a full inquest due to take place on 16 May.

Two Staffordshire bull terriers were taken away from the property by police following the attack in November