- The victim was taken to hospital by paramedics and is in a critical condition
A woman has been left fighting for her life after being savaged in a dog attack which also left another man injured.
Police were called at 8.55am today after a report of the animal attacking a woman in Belvedere, near Bexleyheath, south east London.
The victim, who has not been identified, was taken to hospital by paramedics where she is said to be in a critical condition.
Officers say the dog was injured during the attack and was tasered by police. The dog later died while being held in another room by police.
A man also received minor injuries in the incident and the breed of the dog is not currently known at this stage.
Police were called at 8.55am today after a report of the animal attacking a woman in Belvedere, near Bexleyheath, south east London (stock image)
The incident is the latest in a string of dog attacks – some of them fatal – to have taken place across the country in recent weeks (file photo)
A spokesperson for Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police were called at approximately 08.55am to reports of a woman being attacked by a dog inside an address in Bedwell Road, Belvedere.
‘Officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended the scene – a woman, no further details – was taken to hospital for treatment; she remains there in a critical condition.
‘A man also received minor injuries – he was taken to hospital for treatment.
‘The dog received injuries during the attack and Taser was discharged by officers who secured it in a separate room. It has since died.
‘Enquiries into the circumstances continue.’
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson added: ‘We were called at 8.57am today to reports of an incident on Bedwell Road, Belvedere.
‘We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our tactical response unit. We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance.
‘We treated two patients at the scene before taking them to a major trauma centre as a priority.’
The incident is the latest in a string of dog attacks – some of them fatal – to have taken place across the country in recent weeks.
On Saturday, two people were airlifted to hospital after a dog attack in North Wales, where 37 other dogs were seized from the address.
XL Bully dogs have been involved in a significant number of recent dog attacks.
At the beginning of October, Ian Langley, 54, was set upon on the estate in Sunderland on October 3 this year by an enormous XL Bully dog which grabbed him by the neck as he bent down to pick up his Patterdale terrier pup.
Earlier this month, shocking Ring doorbell footage captured the moment an XL Bully mauled a cat to death
The government took the decision to ban the breed after a spate of vicious attacks (Pictured: An XL Bully rampage in Birmingham)
The attack left Mr Langley needing CPR for around 15 minutes as emergency services fought to staunch heavy bleeding from his wounds. However he tragically succumbed to his injuries. His dog survived.
Mr Langley was the eighth person to be killed by XL Bullies this year.
Now a string of dog attacks in recent weeks have lead the Government to ban the XL Bully breed in England and Wales from the end of this year.
New rules due to come into force on December 31 will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow XL Bully dogs to go stray.
Owners will also have to muzzle the dogs under a law change laid in Parliament.
The regulations will also make it illegal to own an XL Bully from February 1, 2024, unless the animal is on an exempt list, which is called the Index of Exempted Dogs.
The two dates have been staggered to allow owners to prepare for the new rules.
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