This is the gaping wound six-year-old Limerick girl Abbie Cuddihy suffered when she was attacked by a large dog while out playing.

The dog that killed five-year-old Ellie Lawrenson in England was a “pit bull terrier type“, Merseyside Police confirmed today.

An amnesty allowing owners to hand over dangerous dogs could be implemented across the UK, animal welfare workers said today.

The family of a five-year-old girl mauled to death by a dog paid a moving tribute to her today.

The Co Antrim town of Ballymena is beginning an amnesty today allowing the owners of dangerous dogs to hand over the animals without prosecution.

Results expected today from a post mortem examination on a dog that killed a five-year-old girl in the UK will determine whether the animal was a breed subject to the British Dangerous Dogs Act.