Man and woman, 30 and 49, charged over XL Bully attack where eight-year-old boy was serious injured when he was bitten on the head

Amanda Young, 49, and Lewis Young, 30, have been charged with being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injuryThe eight-year-old boy's injuries have been described as 'life changing' 

A man and a woman who were arrested earlier today over the XL Bully attack that left an eight-year-old boy with ‘serious head injuries’ have now been charged.

Amanda Young, 49, and Lewis Young, 30, who are not related to the victim, have been charged with being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury.

Police were called to Wadham Road in Bootle, Merseyside just after 5.20pm on Saturday after a report that the dog had bitten the child on the head in the communal area of flats nearby.

The boy was taken to hospital for the treatment of serious head injuries, where he remains in a serious but stable condition, Merseyside Police said.

Detective Inspector Gary Stratton, in a statement earlier today, said: ‘This was a horrific attack which has left a young child requiring emergency surgery for injuries to his head.

‘I want to reassure people that he is receiving the best possible care and treatment for his injuries, which are described as life-changing.’

Police were called to Wadham Road in Bootle, Merseyside just after 5.20pm on Saturday after a report that the dog had bitten the child on the head in the communal area of flats nearby

An XL Bully dog (stock image). Amanda Young, 49, and Lewis Young, 30, who are not related to the victim, have been charged with being a person in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury

Officers seized the dog, which was put down later on Saturday with the agreement of the owner.

Mr and Ms Young, both of Wadham Road, Bootle, have been remanded in custody and will appear at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

This is the latest in a string of attacks by XL Bullies despite new laws making it illegal to walk the breed off a lead or unmuzzled.

Wadham Road in relation to the rest of  Merseyside. Merseyside Police have arrested a woman, 49, and a man, 30, on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury

Wadham Road in Bootle where an 8-year-old boy was attacked by an XL Bully and left with ‘life changing’ injuries

On Tuesday, February 6, a woman and two children were attacked by an XL Bully in Battersea Park, London.

The woman claims the unleashed XL Bully ‘launched itself on the pram’ carrying her one-year-old daughter, tipping it over and biting the child.

Last Sunday, February 4, a 68-year-old grandmother was mauled to death by an XL Bully in Jaywick, Essex.

The grandmother, named locally as Esther Martin, was attacked by the dog in front of her 11-year-old grandson.

NHS consultant Richard Baker said the breeds’ powerful jaws inflict more damaging wounds than other breeds, resulting in broken bones, shredded skin and damaged nerves.

He said: ‘It’s a crushing or a tearing injury. Once they grip, they don’t let go.’

Since February 1, it has been a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless you have a valid Certificate of Exemption. It is also an offence to sell an XL Bully dog, abandon an XL Bully dog or give away or breed the dog.