Lawson Bond, 2, killed by dog after opening gate into Egdon field

Lawson Bond died at Birmingham Children's Hospital two days after he was attacked at home

A toddler was mauled by a Rottweiler owned by his dog-breeder grandmother after opening a gate into a field where the animals were, an inquest has heard.

Two-year-old Lawson Bond died after being attacked at his home in Egdon, near Worcester, in March last year.

His grandmother Maria Bond, who did not have a licence to breed or sell dogs, found him face down in the field.

Worcestershire's senior coroner David Reid ruled that Lawson's death was the result of misadventure.

Mrs Bond told the inquest at Worcestershire Coroners' Court that she was cleaning out the kennels of three female dogs and let them into the adjoining field she rented so they could exercise and play.

She went inside the cottage to use the toilet and watched a video with her son Reiss on his phone, but when she went back outside, noticed a wooden gate, usually secured with a chain, was open and Lawson was not there.

At first she said she thought he had gone into the field, so "shouted his name" as she walked up there "to get him back in".

She said: "He was laying face down and I couldn't see any of the dogs. I panicked, I grabbed him, picked him up and screamed."

The family drove Lawson to Worcestershire Royal Hospital but had to stop on the way to carry out CPR before meeting paramedics who took over.

He was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital where he went into cardiac arrest and died two days later.

'Very secure'

A post-mortem examination found he had injuries to his head, chest and neck, including a wound to his left internal carotid artery.

The three dogs, one of which had blood round its face, were still in the field when West Mercia Police officers arrived at the cottage.

They were removed from the property and euthanised about a week later.

Fencing surrounding the field and kennels was "well constructed" and "very secure" and the animals were well behaved, the inquest heard.

Coroner Mr Reid said the fact that Ms Bond did not have a dog breeding licence did not contribute to Lawson's death in any way, but he was critical of Wychavon District Council and Worcestershire Regulatory Services for not being more proactive in their search for dog breeders without licences.

The council said it was intelligence-led and relied on people making complaints.

Mr Reid said he would be writing a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the council over his concerns that they were not being proactive enough in finding "unscrupulous" breeders.

Describing his son, Mr Bond told the hearing he could not wait to get up in the morning and had never had any issues with the dogs.

"Everything I did, he wanted to do as well," he said.

"He was fearless and would want to be out and doing what I was doing, whether that was cleaning the kennels or hoovering."