XL bully attack victim's death 'a terrible tragedy'

The death of a man who was attacked at a house by dogs, including two XL bullies, was a "terrible tragedy", an inquest heard.

Nicholas Glass, 33, suffered multiple fatal dog bites but his body was not found until a day later, in the back garden of the Birmingham house.

During a hearing held in Birmingham, assistant coroner Adam Hodson recorded a narrative conclusion and said Mr Glass died from blunt force trauma.

The inquest heard he had volunteered to feed the dogs, which belonged to his brother, at the property on Hereford Close in the Rednal area of the city.

Det Con Darren Ford, of West Midlands Police, told the inquest that officers were called to reports of an unexplained death and dogs roaming loose, in the early hours of 21 August, last year.

However, the hearing was told Mr Glass's last known sighting was just before 22:15 BST on 19 August, as he went into Hereford Close.

Det Con Ford said it was likely the attack took place soon after he arrived at the house.

He said officers found Mr Glass's body at about 01:30 BST, spotting a major left arm injury and he appeared to have been bitten by one or more dogs.

He was found "reasonably well hidden" resting up against a tree behind a fence panel, the inquest was told.

Four dogs were seized in total - two XL bullies, one mixed Staffordshire bull terrier and one bull dog.

Det Con Ford said there was no way to know which of the dogs had killed him and there was no evidence they had been trained to be violent.

A post-mortem examination confirmed Mr Glass's cause of death was trauma caused by dog bites and it was concluded that no foul play was involved.

Mr Glass's mum India Hemp, told the hearing her son had had his problems, but "did not deserve to go through what he had to go through".

She described him as a very happy person who would help her look after his disabled sister.

"He was there, always there helping me," she said.

Recording his narrative conclusion, Mr Hodson said there was no evidence of suspicious activity had contributed to Mr Glass's death.

He described what had happened as a "terrible tragedy", before telling Mr Glass's relatives: "I cannot imagine what you as a family have been through."

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