Two women have been jailed for 12 months each after a pensioner was "literally eaten alive" by their dog.

Retired hospital porter Clifford Clarke, 79, was mauled in his garden in Liverpool after he opened his back door while he was cooking dinner.

The Presa Canario cross-breed dog had earlier escaped from the garden of his next-door neighbour in the Norris Green area of the city.

Last month, Hayley Sulley, 30, and Della Woods, 29, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act of allowing a dog to enter a place where it was not allowed to be and where it injured a person.


Frenzy: Merseyside police arrive at the scene


Mr Clarke opened the back door of his three-bedroom home as he cooked a lamb joint for tea but was faced by the beast who tore into him.

Neighbours came running when they heard Mr Clarke's cries and one tried to tackle the dog with a golf club.

One neighbour said at the time: "I hard barking, at first I thought it was dogs having a fight but then I heard the sounds of a man screaming he was obviously in pain. It was horrific."

When police arrived they waited for armed colleagues who shot the dog dead. Mr Clarke was pronounced dead in hospital shortly afterwards.

The former national serviceman had celebrated his birthday the day before the attack.

The Presa Canario dog, which originated in Spain's Canary Islands, is renowned as a large powerful breed but is not banned in the UK.

Passing sentence Judge Brown said: "I hope that the recent changes to the law will be of some small comfort to Mr Clarke's family.

"Figures released recently show that the number of dangerous dogs seized by the police have risen 50% in just two years in some police forces around the country."



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Neighbours were unable to get into the garden to help the pensioner, while one neighbour rang for a dog warden but was told there was a four-hour wait.



Mr Clarke's family have since called for tougher dog control laws to be brought in, including having muzzles on all dogs in public, and under-18s being barred from walking dogs.

His brother Kenny said: "We are not dog haters, we love dogs - I've been around them my whole life. It is a case of owners taking more responsibility."