Parents on trial after tragic death of 3-year-old boy in dog attack

The parents of a three-year-old boy who died after a dog attack at a farm were 'well aware' that the animals were dangerous, a court heard. Daniel Twigg died after being injured in the incident on Carr Farm on Tunshill Lane, Rochdale, on May 15, 2022. Mark Twigg and Joanne Bedford, of King Street, Radcliffe, are charged with manslaughter and with offences under the dangerous dog act. A trial began at Manchester Crown Court yesterday (Monday, June 30).

Mr Twigg and Ms Bedford, who appeared side by side in the dock, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. During proceedings, a jury was sworn in before they were addressed by the judge, Mr Justice Tim Kerr, and John Elvidge KC, prosecuting.

Opening the case, Mr Elvidge KC, told Daniel died after he was able to enter a pen 'unsupervised' where he found 'two large Mastiff type dogs called Sid and Tiny.' The animals attacked him, leaving Daniel with 'severe damage' to his neck. He 'suffered massive internal and likely plentiful external bleeding,' the court was told.

A swab of DNA taken from Tiny's muzzle and Sid's nose matched that of Daniel's blood. The dogs were described as weighing around '50kgs' and were 'not pets', instead being used on the farm for 'breeding and to act as guard dogs.'

The jury was told that they would be shown CCTV footage that showed Daniel enter the pen which was 'secured with a sliding latch and a Carabiner clip,' rather than a secure lock.

Mr Elvidge told the jury that Mr Twigg and Miss Bedford had a 'long association' with the farm that belonged to a man called Matthew Brown, who was also Daniel's godfather. He told the court that Mr Twigg was an 'odd job man' who worked for Mr Brown. The family had been living on the farm after Mr Brown was remanded to prison after his partner had 'complained about him'.

In an agreement with social services, Mr Brown's partner, her young son and their puppies left the farm and it was agreed that Mr Twigg and Miss Bedford would live on the premises to tend to the animals by 'feeding them, watering them and ensuring that their living conditions were acceptable.'

The court heard how Mr Twigg and Miss Bedford were in charge of caring for eight or nine 'untrained guard dogs' that were 'difficult to control'. They were of a varying breeds such as a Cane Corso, American Bulldog, German Shepherd, Tibetan Mastiff and a Boerboel.

Mr Elvidge told the court that signs were in place warning visitors about the dogs, one of which told visitors not to exit their vehicle and to 'beep their horn or ring' instead, while another said 'beware of the dogs they bite'.

The court heard how the dogs, including Tiny and Sid, lived in an 'extremely unclean and impoverished environment, with no clean bedding and surrounded by their own faeces', and that they were 'not taken out of this environment for exercise.'

The court also heard that the pair had been warned about the risk of Daniel being bitten by the dogs by an RSPCA inspector but they 'brushed off that warning.' The court also heard that there had been previous instances of one of the dogs biting someone in the past.

Another incident included a cyclist injuring themselves after falling off their bike due to the 'aggressive behaviour' of two dogs that were roaming free on the farm.

The court case resumes at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday and is expected to last three weeks.

According to the source: Manchester Evening News.