XL Bully attack – latest: Woman killed by two dogs in Hornchurch pictured as neighbours feared for children
The woman killed by two XL Bully dogs at a semi-detached home in Cornwall Close in Hornchurch has been named locally as Angeline Mahal
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A woman killed by her XL Bully dogs at her house in east London has been named locally as Angeline Mahal.
Ms Mahal, believed to be in her 50s, was attacked by her two dogs at the semi-detached home in Cornwall Close in Hornchurch just after 1pm on Monday.
Armed police attended the scene and told neighbours in the cul-de-sac to stay indoors before the area was evacuated shortly after 4pm.
Despite London Ambulance Service sending paramedics and a helicopter, the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Tuesday afternoon, Ms Mahal was named locally, as His Majesty’s Coroners East London confirmed they had been made aware of her death.
Both dogs were registered as exempt from the government’s ban on XL Bully dogs, which came in on 1 February.
Under the agreement for having a dog exempt, owners must have had the animal neutered, have it microchipped and keep it muzzled and on a lead in public.
But one neighbour, Sejal Solanki, said she had warned her child about going near the dogs.
She said: “I said ‘Don’t ever touch those dogs. They’re dangerous’.”
Have you been affected by this? Email alexander.ross@independent.co.uk
A summary of events after beautician killed by pet dogs
- Angeline Mahal, believed to be in her fifties, was attacked by her two dogs at the semi-detached home in Cornwall Close in Hornchurch just after 1pm on Monday.
- Her two sons found her in the floor of her hallway before they alerted emergency services and attempted CPR, it is feared she may have been dead for hours.
- The Metropolitan Police confirmed Mahal had been pronounced dead at the scene.
- Officers later seized the two dogs without harming them.
Relative warns over XL Bully dog owners
The relative of Angeline Mahal spoke to reporters about the mother who was killed by her two registered XL Bully dogs.
She issued a direct warning to any other owner of the breed.
She said: “There’s something I want to make clear and it’s that anyone who has an XL Bully-type dog needs to do the right thing if they spot their pets becoming aggressive and give them up.
“I know it’s hard because people have such an attachment - but we wouldn’t want any other family to go through this. We miss Angeline. She was a sincere person with such a kind heart.”
‘It’s knocked us all for six’ - saddened councillor
Councillor David Godwin, of the Havering Residents Association, told The Independent he was keen to allow the police to do their work during the live investigation.
But he added: “We are saddened this had happened in our community, it’s knocked us all for six.
“We fell very sorry for the family. It’s something you never think will happen in your area.”
400 XL Bullies put down since ban
Figures show 400 XL bully dogs have been euthanised since the breed type was banned.
A Freedom of Information request shows that 400 compensation claims have been made for the euthanasia of XL bully dogs in England and Wales since the ban on 1 February.
In total, £76,500 has been paid to owners who opted to have their pets put down.
Figures also show 57,277 exemption certificates have been issued to owners who want to keep their pet, on the condition it is neutered, microchipped and kept on a muzzle and lead when in public.
The data shows that previous estimates of the number of XL bullies in the UK have been too low. The government said there were thought to be 10,000, a figure increased to about 50,000 earlier this year.
Dogs ‘kept in cages’
Angeline Mahal’s dogs were registered as exempt from the ban on XL Bully dogs, which came into force on 1 February.
Tonight, a close family member of Angeline, known to friends as Angel, said they asked her to get rid of the dogs, but the bond between them was too strong.
He told The Sun: “She had two dogs from when they were puppies. They were registered. It was more likely to have been one of them attacked her.
“We are just shocked. You hear about these attacks in a paper but you never expect this to happen to your own family.”
He added: “She’s had many dogs over the years. It’s hard to pay attention to them. The dogs took up a lot of her time, they took away her freedom.
“She kept them in cages in one of the rooms. The whole family is distraught from this, her sons are devastated. Angeline was loved by everyone.”
‘Nevermind the dogs’: Tragic sign outside home where woman was mauled to death by her own XL bullies
A sticker on the front door of a home where a woman was killed in an attack by her two XL Bully dogs warned “never mind the dogs”.
Underneath the opening text, the message jokingly added: “Beware of the kids”.
The tragic sticker was spotted at the semi-detached home in Cornwall Close, in Hornchurch, east London, where a woman was mauled to death by her two registered XL Bully dogs shortly after 1pm on Monday. Armed police were called to the incident, with a cordon remaining outside the home with a blue forensic tent on Tuesday morning.
Tragic sign outside home where woman was mauled to death by her own XL bullies
Neighbours have spoken of their shock after the woman was fatally attacked by her two XL Bully dogs at her home in Cornwall Close in Hornchuch
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