Thugs train 'XL Bully dog' to maul baby memorial tree near Lucy Letby hospital
An 'attack dog' has been blamed by a hospital for destroying trees in a baby loss memorial garden.
It's believed the greenery in the garden of reflection at Countess of Chester Country Park was damaged by a canine of the XL Bull Terrier breed. The incident happened on Friday, August 18, which is the same day vile baby killer Lucy Letby was convicted of the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of six more at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
Letby committed the crimes while working in the neonatal unit of the hospital and was handed a whole-life sentence for her crimes, CheshireLive reports. Now, the Countess of Chester Country Park has made a public please on social media calling for any information on who or what destroyed their memorial garden.
Police are investigating and believe an XL Bully type dog was seen in the park around noon on the same day, around the time when the incident is thought to have taken place and they believe this dog may have attacked the trees.
The chair of the Friends of the Countess of Chester Country Park, Andy Scargill, claimed a picture showed a dog near the foot of the tree.
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The trees were savaged last month (CheshireLive/MEN)
Multiple trees at the memorial garden were damaged (CheshireLive/MEN)He added: "They are really powerful and they get them to jump up and they are grabbing the tree with their jaws. You can see there the whole base has been damaged.
"There's one called a bully XL - an American bulldog - and there's a whole set of these very very strong and aggressive dogs. They come out here and train by jumping at trees."
Andy Scargill said the damage to the trees at the Countess of Chester Country Park was first spotted by a visitor to the park at around 10am with staff from the Life for a Life charity, who lease the memorial tree site, then spotting it when they visited to mow the grass at around noon that day.
In August it was reported that the American bully breed is closely related to the Pit Bull Terrier, which is one of four breeds of dog that are banned in the UK, but it is not subject to any legal restrictions itself. There were calls for the breed to be banned but this was rejected by the Government.
MPs from all sides demanded urgent action after the breed was responsible for at least nine deaths since 2021, including three children.
Charity worker Andy Scargill and other volunteers were left appalled when they made the discovery (CheshireLive/MEN)The trees were only planted at the memorial garden in April to provide a "tranquil place of reflection" for parents who have lost babies. It includes a bench and board which says reads "this is the Memory Milk Gift Celebration Trees and Bench," before adding: "There is no footprint too small to leave an imprint on the World."
Andy explained he and his fellow volunteers at the park were appalled at what had happened and they have reported the incident to police. A social media post shared by the Countess of Chester Country Park on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: "We are sad to report that three newly planted specimen trees at the top of our site have been very badly damaged by what we believe to be an attack dog, they won't survive. We think this would have been on Friday about noon, this is becoming more common in parks etc."
Andy added: "We were disappointed and very sad to find out from the Life for a Life charity who are leasing this part of the site that three very special memorial trees had been damaged, we think by attack dogs, to the point that, probably, the trees will now die and will need to be replaced.
An XL Bully type dog was spotted at the site around the time the trees were damaged (CheshireLive/MEN)"The bark that's been chewed off is the living part of the tree and all that's left is the heart wood which is the stuctural part. Without the living part the tree will die. They are starting to curl up.
"I know we've reported bits of vandalism in the past but compared to most green sites and parks we don't get a great deal of vandalism which is why, when we do, for us it is a real shock and, for something like this, we've never had anything as bad as this before. We don't know why it's happened.
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"This is the first time we've ever had anything like this happen here. It was spotted by a visitor at 10am on Friday, August 18. Then later in the day it was spotted by the Life for a Life charity people when they came to mow around the trees and they then reported it to Neil McMahon who is our ranger and myself and we came up to have a look."
Lucy Letby has been given a while-life jail sentence (PA)One person who visited the park and saw the damage said: "The fact that they are destroying things like that - the trees - then that is wrong really, because of what it is. It's disgusting and very sad.
"It's getting more established now as well. If they're letting them do that then maybe we need a bigger police presence then, just to try to deter them."
A Cheshire Police spokesperson said: "On Monday 21 August police were made aware that three trees had been damaged in a memorial garden at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
"It is not known when the incident occurred or who caused the damage, although there are reports that the damage was caused by a dog. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cheshire police on 101 quoting CRN-2494911."
RSPCA dog fighting expert and Special Operations Unit (SOU) chief inspector Ian Muttitt said: "Sadly we're back seeing pre-pandemic levels of dog fighting incidents. An average of 19 incidents were being investigated every month in 2019 and that has risen to a shocking 31 a month so far this year.
"Our figures show that in the past four years, the RSPCA has uncovered and dealt with 1,156 incidents of dog fighting in England and Wales. The north of England is the worst region for it, with 42% of the incidents occurring there.
"It's staggering that something which has been illegal for almost 200 years, which most people would consider consigned to history, is still so rife."
He added: "The dog fighting world is a dark and secretive place. It could be happening in an inner-city warehouse next door to your office or on a rural farm in your quiet village.
"Signs of dog fighting can vary but if you notice a dog with lots of scars on its face, front legs, hind legs and thighs, or with puncture wounds and mangled ears - this could be a sign of dog fighting and should be reported to the RSPCA or the police. Other suspicious activity includes dogs being hidden away in outbuildings or kennels of sight and not exercised in public.
"Dogs who win fights are prized but those who refuse to fight or lose are often abandoned or barbarically killed.
"Overall dog fighting in England and Wales has increased since 2019, jumping from a total number of 232 incidents investigated by the RSPCA in 2019 to 355 in 2022. We've dealt with 155 incidents this year, but we're only six months into the year, so we're concerned we will see this number steadily rise."
The RSPCA is urging people to report anything suspicious to them. Anyone concerned about the welfare of an animal or who suspects dog fighting may be taking place is urged to contact them online via their website here.
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