Solicitor Patrick McGuire has called for a ‘one strike and you’re out’ law to ensure that dogs which attack people are automatically put down.

Mr McGuire a partner with Thompsons Solicitors who specialise in personal injury cases said: “I fully understand how attached people become to their pets, but I think even the most-loved dog crosses a line when it attacks a human being.”

He was speaking after a court ordered a fighting dog to be put down after an attack  that left schoolgirl Toni Clannachan, 10, needing 100 stitches to repair her face.

Mr McGuire said: “We have a number of clients who have been injured to varying degrees in similar attacks.

“These incidents are always traumatic and generally leave the victim with serious injuries and in some cases permanently disfigured.

“We need a ‘one strike and you’re out law’ to ensure that such vicious dogs are automatically put down.

“In this particular case the attack happened in August, but the court has only just ordered the dog to be put down. I think that should have happened automatically at the time of the incident.

“Owners tend to become so attached to their dogs that their instinct is to regard any attack as out of character, which is why we need the law to be more specific in this area.”

If you have been mauled or otherwise injured by a dog, call Thompsons accident compensation lawyers on 0800 0891 331 or text CLAIM to 78866 for no win no fee advice from our lawyers.