Woman killed and man suffers ‘life-changing’ injuries in Rotherham dog attack

Latest inident comes after experts told The Independent that increasing numbers of serious maulings constituted an ‘unrecognised public health crisis’

Masefield Road in West Melton, near Rotherham (Google)

A woman has been killed and a man has suffered life-changing injuries in a dog attack near Rotherham, police have said.

The 43-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene after police were called to a property in the village of West Melton at 10.15pm on Friday night.

The man, 42, was rushed to hospital with injuries to his hand, face and abdomen.

Two dogs have been seized and removed from the property.

It is unclear what breed they are, although South Yorkshire Police said neither were considered banned breeds under the Dangerous Dogs Act. No arrests are thought to have been made.

A statement from the force said: “We were called to a property on Masefield Road in West Melton at about 10.15pm last night by a member of the public stating a dog had attacked himself and a woman.

“Officers attended with a Yorkshire Ambulance crew and found a man, aged 42, with a potentially life-altering injury to one hand, plus injuries to his other hand, abdomen and face. He was transported to hospital for further treatment.

“The woman, aged 43, had been fatally bitten and despite the best efforts of emergency crews was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.

“The dog, plus another dog at the property, were secured by specially trained officers. Neither dog was of a banned breed.”

The incident is only the latest in a series of fatal attacks this year which number at least six and include a three-month-old baby mauled to death by a husky in Lincolnshire, a three-year-old boy killed by a cane corso near Rochdale and a 62-year-old man who died after being savaged by his daughter-in-law’s XL bully.

Only in March this year, animal experts and vets told The Independent that the UK was seeing so many serious dog attacks – around 9,000 hospital admissions every year – that it constituted an unrecognised public health crisis.

“There can be this tendency to brush off [dog bites] as almost cartoon-ish,” said Dr Carri Westgarth, a lecturer in human-animal interaction at University of Liverpool. “But the physical and mental effects can be absolutely catastrophic for those involved.”