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Dog attacks resulting in injuries across the UK have increased by more than 80 per cent since 2020, new figures reveal.
Data obtained by the Daily Mirror show police recorded offences of out-of-control dog attacks causing injury have risen from 16,040 in 2020 to 29,400 last year – an alarming 83 per cent increase.
The number of attacks has continued to rise despite a ban on the XL bully breed, which was implemented in February 2024.
London saw the highest number of dog attacks in 2025, with the Metropolitan Police recording 2,530 cases, while Greater Manchester Police recorded the second highest total with 1,678.
Earlier this month, a three-month-old girl died after being bitten by a dog.
open image in gallery Three-month-old Maggie-May Ann Moody ( Cleveland Police/PA )
Maggie-May Ann Moody died on April 9 in Dormanstown, near Redcar, Cleveland.
Armed police attended and shot a dog at the property, with another being put down later.
In a statement issued to Cleveland Police, her family said: “Maggie changed us in so many ways.
“She was everything to us. She gave us meaning and purpose every day, and we feel empty.
“As parents and a family, we have been robbed of a beautiful lifetime and memories with her.
“Our lives will never be the same again, she will always be in our hearts.”
open image in gallery The number of attacks has continued to rise despite a ban on the XL bully breed ( PA )
Two men, aged 36 and 45, and a 31-year-old woman were arrested and have been released on conditional bail.
Two other people have been killed in dog attacks this month.
A 19-year-old woman died after a dog attacked her at her home and she sustained serious traumatic injuries to her neck, an inquest heard.
Jamie-Lea Biscoe was discovered by her father in an upstairs bedroom at the address in the village of Leaden Roding, Essex.
A man was arrested after a woman in her 70s died following an attack by two dogs at a house in Wolverhampton on April 15.