Pictured: Baby girl attacked by 'XL Bully type' dog in Folkestone after animal 'just snapped'
12 December 2024, 16:31
The first image of a baby girl fighting for her life after being attacked by an XL Bully-type dog has been released
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Arabella Williams, just eight months old, was attacked at a property in Hawkinge, Kent yesterday.
The infant was airlifted to King's College Hospital in London, where she is being treated for serious injuries.
The dog, a registered XL Bully breed type, was shot by police in the front room after the animal "just snapped" and attacked the baby.
Police have arrested an 18-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
Stephanie Coombs, 33, little Arabella's great aunt, said the baby was in a stable condition in the intensive care unit and that it had been "touch and go".
She said: “I don’t know what happened but the dog just snapped.
“Hunter, the dog, and the baby got on so well. It’s so out of character for the dog. It was so soppy. We used to think he was like Scooby Do! They used to get in the travel cot together. He would sniff the baby and wander off."
The baby's mum is by with her side at hospital as the whole family grapples with the "upsetting situation", Ms Coombs told KentOnline.
Police say they arrested two people in connection with the incident, an 18-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman, on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control.
A Kent Police spokesperson said: "Kent Police was called at 2.23pm on Wednesday 11 December, to a report that an infant had been bitten by a dog inside a property on Siskin Close, Hawkinge near Folkestone.
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"Officers attended along with South East Coast Ambulance Service and an eight month old girl was airlifted to a London hospital where she remains in a serious condition.
"The dog was seized and destroyed. An 18-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. They remain in custody while enquiries continue.
"Officers will remain in the area while enquiries are carried out and to provide reassurance to the local community."
Forensics officers were at the scene of the cordoned off home yesterday evening.
