Four-year-old girl dies after reported dog attack in Milton Keynes

Police were called after a report that a dog had attacked a child in the garden of a property in Broadlands, Netherfield.
The dog has since been ‘humanely destroyed’ (Yui Mok/PA)
PA Archive
Ellie Ng31 January 2023

A four-year-old girl has died after reports of a dog attack in Milton Keynes, Thames Valley Police said.

Officers were called by the ambulance service just past 5pm on Tuesday after a report that a dog had attacked a child in the back garden of a property in Broadlands, Netherfield.

It was confirmed shortly after that the child had died at the scene.

The dog has since been “humanely destroyed”.

I understand how much of an impact this will have on the community and on the wider public, and people can expect to see a large police presence in the area this evening and beyond while our investigation continues

Superintendent Matt Bullivant

No-one else was hurt and the child’s family is being supported by specially trained officers.

No arrests have been made in connection with the investigation.

Superintendent Matt Bullivant said: “This is an absolutely tragic incident in which we believe that a child has been killed after being attacked by a dog.

“Clearly we are in the very early stages of an investigation, and it would be wrong and unhelpful to speculate as to the exact circumstances of this incident at this point.

“However, in order to ensure public safety, a decision was made earlier this evening to destroy the dog involved, and this has been done humanely.

“I understand how much of an impact this will have on the community and on the wider public, and people can expect to see a large police presence in the area this evening and beyond while our investigation continues.

“I would like to reassure people that there is no reason to believe there is any danger to the wider public at this time.

“Anyone with concerns should feel free to approach our officers and ask questions, but I urge people not to speculate about the circumstances, especially on social media platforms.

“I also understand that this case is likely to attract attention from the media. With this in mind I would like to ask that the privacy of the family involved is respected at this very difficult time. It is impossible to imagine what they must be going through at the moment.”

The force urged anyone with information to call 101 quoting reference number 20230131-1546 or to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. Reports can also be made online.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in