Inside UK's dog attack hotspot where desperate community struggles to fight back

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20-04-2025

One area which has suffered some of the of the most high profile dog attacks in recent years is Gwent. Tragedy struck twice in the space of a year in the sleepy working class suburb of Penyrhoel in Caerphilly.
The first victim was schoolboy Jack Lis, 10, who was fatally savaged by an XL Bully at a house in the area in 2021 and then less than 12 months later beloved gran Shirley Patrick died 18 days after being attacked by an American XL Bully in 2022.
Both deaths shocked the tight-knit community to the core but there had been warning signs after an explosion of illegal breeding in the area during the Covid lockdowns, the Mirror reports.
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And just days before Jack lost his life to an XL Bully called Beast it was caught on CCTV footage terrorising passers-by outside a local shop. The Mirror spent some time on the Penyrhoel estate this week where the back-to-back dog attacks still loom large on people's minds.
Although at first glance you would not know the tragedies had taken place at all as grannies piled into the community centre to enjoy some day time bingo while the local chippy was still doing a roaring trade with happy school children.
But ask about dangerous dogs on the streets of Penyrhoel and the memories of Jack and Shirley are never far from the surface and everyone is united in their determination to crack down on dangerous dogs in the area.
While you don't see XL Bullies roaming the streets these days thanks to the combined efforts of the police and the local council locals told us they are still there but hidden and most importantly people have the courage to report them now.
One woman said: 'I think there is that fear of reprisals, people may have gone to prison for what happened but their supposed mates are still about and there is still that fear about speaking out.
'But thanks to work done locally we now know where to report these things and know they will be taken seriously, so we might not put our head above the parapet but we know how to deal with it.
'The dogs are still about though, you just don't see them as much, they are walked at night and kept behind closed doors.'
Local councillor Steve Skivens has coordinated the LEAD (Local Environmental Awareness on Dogs) response in the area but accepts that breeding is still going on the background.
He told The Mirror: 'We need fundamental change in animal welfare legislation to protect animals and educate animal owners or controllers and ensure there is responsible dog ownership in our communities. Enforceable by law if necessary. Breeding, sale or procurement and dog control all require further review.
He added: 'Penyrheol is a good community and 99% of its people see the positives in what has had to happen after such brutal incidents.
'However there are still people breeding, owning and moving dogs which have the potential to harm others. We do not want another incident and people must report any concerns.'
Another man, who did not wanted to be named, told The Mirror: 'It's definitely got better but I know someone who used to breed XL Bullies and he made a load of dough but got out just in time.
'There is not much work for young people so some of them saw it as a chance to make some money but even he told me the bullies weren't right, they were never right, they would always flip.
'I don't know what you do though because the breeders will just move on to other breeds.'
This is something Shirley's daughter Gail Jones has learned the hard way since her mum was killed.
She said: 'To be honest I think a lot of people, especially during Covid, were breeding dogs because they wanted to make some money.
'Places like Gwent and Mid-Glamorgan are amongst the poorest areas in Great Britain and I think people just thought they could make a fast buck.
'That's probably why so many dogs were illegally bred in the last few years and that's probably why we find there are more attacks in this area.
'Of course this dogs will not have been bred or trained properly and can be bred by anybody not necessarily just the XL Bully either because the previous owner of the dog which killed my mother were breeding two other breeds of dog in the house at the same time an they were doing it for money but they weren't qualified breeders or anything like that.
'In all honesty I will say there is very high percentage of people doing this who are unemployed, and not because they are lazy but because they have no opportunities there is no work for them and the pits have closed down so they turn to things like this.
'Unemployment has played an awfully big role in people breeding these dogs, not just Bullies, because it is not regulated like it should be anybody can breed a dog so maybe it should licenced if that was possible.
'It's the easiest way for some people to make money so we need regulation and training to ensure we breed safe dogs and when we do we do it responsibly and the only way I think we stop it is through tough jail sentences for people found breeding dangerous dogs, it is the only way we can get it under control.'