A shocking dog attack which hospitalised two people has been branded 'very worrying' for the neighbourhood. A man and a woman were rushed to hospital after they were attacked in Purcell Road, Bell Green, by a dog believed to be an American XL Bully, at around 4pm on Thursday (28).

Their injuries are not said to be life-threatening, but the nature of the incident, described by police as 'very distressing', has inevitably prompted concern. Labour politician George Duggins, councillor for the Longford ward covering Bell Green and the city's council leader, told CoventryLive: "Any incident like this is exceptionally distressing and causes concern for everybody. It's clearly very worrying for the neighbourhood."

Irrespective of whether it was an XL Bully involved in the Bell Green incident, Mr Duggins questioned whether an outright ban on the breed, as appears to have been proposed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was the right course of action. Coventry City Council's policy and leadership boss said greater onus and responsibility should lie with the owners.

READ MORE: 'XL Bully' dog attack live after woman and man bitten in Purcell Road in Coventry

"How effective a ban would be and whether it would stop attacks like this - that needs to be effectively worked through," he said. "We need to see what the proposals actually mean.

"What we want is an end to attacks of this nature by any dog, but in particular this breed which is in the news a lot at the moment. It's being heralded as a ban, but not a ban in the sense people might expect it to be."

Mr Duggins, who used to own a dog himself, although not an XL, called on owners to better protect the reputation of the breed and the safety of the general public. "It's how owners bring up dogs and whether they can effectively handle these dogs," he said.

Purcell Road in Bell Green, scene of a dreadful dog attack believed to have involved an American XL Bully
Purcell Road in Bell Green, scene of a dreadful dog attack believed to have involved an American XL Bully

"It's an owner's responsibility to ensure their dog doesn't attack people in this way. We want to ensure this doesn't happen.

"You can talk about punishment (of the owners). This is likely to be for the courts to decide on the circumstances and each set of circumstances will be different."

Environment Secretary Theresa Coffee announced earlier this month that experts would 'urgently convene' to define the ‘American XL bully’ breed type. This was seen by the government as 'a vital first step' towards the breed being added to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Officers Tasered the dog involved in the Bell Green attack before it was placed in a wheelie bin to ensure the public’s safety. It will be put to sleep, police said.

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