A south London man has appeared in court after two escaped XL Bully dogs killed a small dog in Brighton. 

Dean Bryce, 52, of Penge Road in South Norwood, pleaded guilty to being in charge of two dogs which injured a woman whilst they were dangerously out of control. 

It follows an incident on Mackie Avenue in Patcham, a suburb of Brighton, on April 13 last year. 

The attack happened when a woman was walking her dog, described as a poodle type dog. 

A witness told the Argus: “I was right behind the woman, the dog appeared from an alleyway.

“It immediately grabbed her dog and shook it. She desperately tried to get it off. I started to shout saying ‘who’s dog is this?’.

"After a minute, which felt like forever, a man came out and tried to remove the dog from this smaller dog. 

“It was horrendous, there was blood everywhere. He got the dog off but another slightly larger dog then appeared and also attacked the small dog. 

“He could not remove the larger dog which was clamped on to the smaller dog. 

“I tried to console the woman, several people were outside at that point as well. She wanted to get to a vet but no one had a car. 

“I went to get my car but when I returned the dog and other people had all left but police were there. I gave a statement to the police. 

“The dog was dead. It was shaken to bits. She had blood all over her. 

“I think she hurt her hands on the teeth of the dog trying to get it off. 

“I think people assume that there are really few of these dogs around. I think people think this is generally confined to poorer neighbourhoods but it can happen anywhere. 

“I felt sorry for the man. These may be loving pets but he was completely powerless. These dogs are so strong. 

“It was awful. The smaller dog looked like a rag on the floor not a dog. 

“Even if these dogs have to wear muzzles in public, they can still escape from their homes. We will see more of these attacks.” 

Bryce appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 13, but the sentencing was adjourned until May 30 for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.