Two suspected XL Bully dogs were destroyed by armed police after an elderly man was attacked. Cheshire Police said an 84-year-old man was seriously hurt in an incident at an address on Bardsley Avenue, Warrington at about 18:00 GMT on Monday. A police spokesman said the victim was taken to Aintree hospital.

An 84-year-old pensioner was dragged into a garden and attacked by a dog believed to be an XL Bully. The dog had escaped from a nearby address and attacked the man on Bardsley Avenue, in Warrington, at around 6.40pm on Monday.

A 29-year-old woman has been held on suspicion of having a dog that was dangerously out of control, causing serious injury, after the attack on Monday evening, Cheshire Constabulary said.

Upon arrival, armed officers shot and killed the dog outside the property. A second suspected XL Bully was also killed inside the residence, and a third smaller dog was seized. Cheshire Police said firearms officers fired 19 shots at the dogs due to "the sheer size and ferocity of these animals".

Kent Police said they have had to train two more dog handlers to enforce the XL bully dog ban. Chief Constable Tim Smith warned the ban could also cost the force more than £1m to house the seized dogs.

ARMED police required 19 on-target shots to end a ‘vicious’ XL bully attack that left a pensioner fighting for his life. The incident, involving an escaped, suspected unregistered XL bully and an innocent 84-year-old man,