XL bully 'savaged' 84-year-old man and guarded him like 'prey'

An XL bully mauled an 84-year-old man "as if he were its prey", a court has heard.

John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack in Warrington, Cheshire, on 24 February last year.

The dog attacked him after he wandered onto the driveway of Sean Garner's home in Bardsley Avenue at around 6pm. Armed police officers shot the dog 10 times, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor David Birrell said the dog, called Toretto, "attacked him and it just would not let him go".

"The dog guarded him as if he were its prey. It savaged him," he said.

Sean Garner, 31, of Belle Vale, Liverpool, denies being the owner of a dog causing injury while out of control. He admits possessing the banned male dog and a female of the same breed without an exemption certificate.

Police officers could not get to Mr McColl, so firearms officers attended and shot the dog nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun, the court heard.

"That is how much ammunition was required to neutralise this large, powerful, savage dog," Mr Birrell said.

An examination of the dog after his death found no food in his stomach, and showed he had begun to eat Mr McColl alive, the court heard.

A second dog, called Malibu, was also shot by police, Mr Birrell said.

Neighbour Christopher Burton told the court he grabbed a walking stick after he was alerted to the attack.

Giving evidence, Mr Burton said: "The dog was chewing on the bloke's face, it was tearing the bloke's face".

"I struck it once with the walking stick," he said, adding that he "just could not get the dog off the bloke".

Geoffrey Chadwick, who was walking his dog nearby at the time, said in a statement to the court that he hit the dog with spirit level.

"I thought the man was dead at first until I heard him ask me for help," he said.

Police Constable Chris Cunliffe, one of the first officers at the scene, said in a statement: "I can only describe the dog's behaviour as if it were guarding its toy it had just ripped apart."

The jury heard Garner avoided police before handing himself in on 26 February.

Mr Birrell said Garner was an "irresponsible" and "reckless" dog owner.

He said Garner was expected to tell the court the dog had been kept securely in a tool shed, but that the dog was kept on a patio, with only a metal gate on a latch securing it.

Text messages showed he contacted family members and "made light of the situation", the prosecutor said.

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Mr Birrell told the court that Garner knew the dog, which he used for breeding, was dangerous and had said he was "missing a few nuts and bolts".

He said the jury would hear evidence that the dog had not been fed for some time.

"The expert will also tell us that the dog appeared to be guarding Mr McColl as if he were its prey or its food," he said.

The jury heard Garner kept the female dog separated from the male, which can make them "frustrated and aggressive".

A jury was sworn in on Tuesday morning. The trial is expected to last between five and seven days.

(c) Sky News 2026: XL bully 'savaged' 84-year-old man and guarded him like 'prey'