A man was found dead in a garden after being savaged by dogs that he offered to care for while his brother was in hospital, an inquest has heard.
Nicholas Glass, 33, suffered multiple fatal wounds after being attacked by his siblings pets, two of which were XL bullies, at a house in the Rubery area of Birmingham.
He is believed to have been mauled on the night of August 19, before being found on August 21.
The inquest heard he likely fled through a rear window but bled to death before reaching safety.
Birmingham Assistant Coroner Adam Hodson said police received a call in the early hours to say several dogs were roaming loose in Hereford Close.
The animals had come from a property belonging to Mr Glass’s brother, James, who was in hospital at the time.
Mr Glass had offered to look after them while his sibling recovered.
Two of the animals were secured and two more found by police days later.
Two were XL bullies while there was also an American bulldog and a mixed breed Staffordshire terrier.
Mr Glass was then found in the rear garden, his body partly obscured by a wooden panel which had been propped up. The court he died as a result of blunt force trauma from multiple dog bites.
The assistant coroner said CCTV footage had shown Mr Glass going into the property before barking was heard.
He added: ‘I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Nicholas was bitten by more than one of his brother’s dogs.
‘There is no evidence as to which breed of dog was responsible.’
He said it was possible that Mr Glass had been attacked in the property, left via a window and hidden behind a fence panel before ‘succumbing to his injuries’.
It was also possible that he could be heard crying for help.
He added: ‘This appears to have been a terrible tragedy.
‘It appears to me that Nicholas was a caring brother and son who simply offered to look after his brother’s dogs while his brother was in hospital.
‘He sadly lost his life as a terrible consequence.’
Since February last year, it has been a criminal offence to own an XL bully dog in England and Wales without an exemption certificate, meaning unregistered pets will be taken and owners possibly fined and prosecuted.
As well as the XL bully, other banned types of dog under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 include the pit bull terrier, Japanese Tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro.
In December, reports revealed more than 100 dangerous dogs have been destroyed a month on average since XL bullies were banned, as the cost of kennelling seized dogs is expected to reach £25 million by the end of the financial year.
In the first eight months of 2024, 1,991 suspected banned dogs had been seized, up from 283 in 2023, and 818 dogs had been destroyed, more than double 2023’s figure, the BBC has reported following Freedom of Information Act (FOI) responses from 19 police forces in England and Wales.
Grandfather John McColl, 84, died more than a month after he suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by an XL Bully as he walked home in Warrington, Cheshire, on February 24.
A teenage girl died in an XL Bully attack inside a flat in Bristol two days later.
Morgan Dorsett, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, suffered fatal neck injuries.
In January, a man whose XL bully dog escaped and killed his neighbour as he chased him for breaking his window has been jailed for three years.
Christopher Bell, 45, came out of his house barefoot to run after Ian Langley, 54, who had thrown a stone at his home in Shiney Row, near Sunderland, on October 3, 2023.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Bell left the door of his house open, allowing his two XL bully dogs to get out and join in the chase.
The animals overtook their owner and the larger one, Titan, knocked Mr Langley to the ground and latched on to his neck, causing unsurvivable injuries, prosecutors said.
Bell pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury leading to death while dangerously out of control in a public place.
Titan was destroyed at the scene and Bell’s other dog, Sapphire, was taken away and euthanised, the court heard.
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