Bootle XL bully attack: Mother and son in court after boy injured

New laws for owning American XL bully dogs have recently come into force [stock image]

A mother and son have appeared in court after an XL bully dog attacked an eight-year-old boy.

The schoolboy has been left with "life-changing" injuries after he was bitten on the head on Saturday in Bootle, Merseyside by the dog.

Amanda Young, 49, and Lewis Young, 30, have been charged with being a person in charge of a dog, dangerously out of control and causing injury.

They did not enter pleas at Liverpool Magistrates' Court.

The pair, of Wadham Road, Bootle, appeared separately in court, where district judge James Hatton bailed them to appear at crown court on 11 March.

Police were called to Wadham Road just before 17:30 GMT on Saturday after the boy was attacked in a communal area of flats.

The boy was bitten in Wadham Road in Bootle on Saturday evening

Lionel Cope, prosecuting, told the court the boy had gone round to see friends and had sustained "incredibly serious life-changing injuries."

He was taken to hospital for treatment, Merseyside Police said.

The dog, called Snoop, was seized by police and later destroyed with the agreement of the owner, the court heard.

New rules for owning American XL bully dogs have recently come into force in England and Wales, and will be implemented in Scotland later this year.

It is illegal to own one without an exemption certificate, and registered dogs must be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.

Additional reporting by Lynda Roughley

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