An 84-year-old man was fatally attacked by a ‘powerful’ illegal XL Bully dog which savaged him ‘as if he were its prey’ when he wandered onto its owner’s driveway, a court heard today.
John McColl died after being set upon by the ‘dangerous and aggressive’ pet – which had not been fed – in Warrington, Cheshire in February last year, jurors were told.
Brave members of the public used makeshift weapons – including a broomstick, a golf club and a spirit level – in a bid to rescue Mr McColl, who was screaming ‘Help me!’ but the animal kept them at bay.
The helpless pensioner was ‘eaten alive’ by the dog, and police had to shoot it ten times to neutralise it, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
One officer called to the scene today recalled how Mr McColl had sustained ‘the worst injuries I have ever seen in my policing career’.
Sean Garner, 31, admits being in possession of two XL Bully dogs – Toretto and Malibu – without an exemption certificate.
But he denies being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and which inflicted fatal injuries on Mr McColl.
Prosecutor David Birrell gave the jury graphic detail of injuries suffered by Mr McColl, who died in hospital a month after the attack by Toretto.
Sean Garner, 31, admits being in possession of two XL Bully dogs without an exemption certificate but denies being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and inflicted fatal injuries on John McColl, 84
John McColl, 84, wandered onto Sean Garner’s driveway in Warrington, Cheshire on February 24, 2025 when the XL bully attacked and savaged him
It had ‘eaten him alive’, he said, adding that parts of Mr McColl’s face were found in its stomach when vets cut it open.
‘It guarded him as if he were his prey. It had savaged him.
‘There was no food in the dog’s stomach, just part of John McColl’s face. And bits of plastic.’
‘The dog had attacked Mr McColl and it would just not let him go,’ he added.
‘People tried to help him – grown men with weapons hitting the dog – but it was no use.’
Mr Birrell said armed police officers shot the dog nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun.
He said: ‘That is how much ammunition was required to neutralise this large, powerful and savage dog.’
He said that police found another XL Bully called Malibu on the premises and ‘did not take any chances’ so they shot the second animal.
Garner (pictured arriving at Liverpool Crown Court for his trial) claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, jurors were told
Mr Birrell said that after the attack, Garner ‘kept his distance from the police who wanted to speak to him’.
He contacted family members who advised him to lie, and ‘made light of the situation and made jokes while doctors were trying to save Mr McColl’s life’.
Garner handed himself into the police two days after the attack and claimed the dog had never shown any aggression, the court heard.
Mr Birrell said the claim was a lie because Toretto had fought with Malibu and had injured one member of Garner’s family.
He also claimed for six months that the dogs were not the XL Bully breed until admitting they were.
Mr Birrell said that Garner was expected to claim that the dogs were kept locked in a locked tool shed.
But there was evidence from neighbours that they were kept on a patio which was covered in dog mess, jurors were told.
Garner also claimed that the patio had a metal gate which was locked with a bolt, but photographs of the gate showed no bolt, the prosecutor said.
Mr Birrell said: ‘This large and powerful dog could very easily have pawed and opened the latch and attacked someone.
‘That is probably what happened.
Police vehicles pictured in after the attack on 84-year-old John McColl
‘However the dog escaped, after it has escaped, it was dangerously out of control, and whilst it was dangerously out of control, it attacked and killed John McColl.’
Mr Birrell said that text messages from Garner proved that he knew the dog was dangerous and aggressive and he admitted that ‘it was missing a few nuts and bolts.’
He said: ‘And yet he kept the dog, knowing that it was missing a few nuts and bolts.’
The jury heard that Garner had failed to feed the dog properly, which caused it to become irritable and aggressive.
A dog expert would tell the court that Toretto was guarding Mr McColl ‘as if it were his food.’
Mr Birrell said that Garner was an ‘irresponsible and reckless owner’ who also planned to breed XL Bully dogs ‘to make money’.
He added: ‘He may try to argue that he was not responsible because Mr McColl entered his driveway, but that does not absolve him of responsibility.
‘All sorts of people might enter your driveway – postmen, Amazon delivery drivers, a child retrieving a ball. The possibilities are endless.
‘But it is not acceptable for your dog to attack someone and kill them, just because they enter your driveway.’
One of the first police officers at the scene, PC Chris Cunliffe, entered the garden armed with his Taser stun gun.
He told jurors how he was confronted with a ‘very muscular dog with a large body and head’ lying next to Mr McColl.
‘I can only describe the dog like it was guarding a toy that it had ripped apart.’
He said he was standing around 20ft from Mr McColl and could see he had suffered severe facial injuries, with a large amount of blood on the ground.
‘The sounds of his screams were horrific,’ PC Cunliffe said.
‘Watching a male lying in his own blood with no face is the hardest thing I have had to do in my life.
‘They were the worst injuries I have ever seen in my policing career.’
PC Cunliffe said he did not Taser the dog for fear it might attack Mr McColl again and waited ten or 15 minutes for armed officers to shoot the male animal, Toretto.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how three men – Victor Ferrier, wielding a broom, Christopher Burton, with a golf club, and builder Geoffrey Chadwick, with a long spirit level – all tried to help Mr McColl but were kept at bay by the dog.
Mr Chadwick said he heard Mr McColl repeatedly shout ‘Help me, help me!’ as he lay on the ground with his trousers halfway down his legs and his shoes missing.
‘The dog was either chewing or licking at his face,’ he said.
‘I thought the man was dead but then he said “Help me!” and was making moaning noises.’
Prosecutor Mr Birrell said Toretto had a history of bad behaviour and had even bitten Garner’s mother on a previous occasion.
In an exchange of text messages between mother and son, she told him: ‘He got me last time but I was ready this time. Always bring treats to calm him down.’
The court heard how Mr McColl used to go to his local Hatter pub in Warrington every Monday where he stayed the afternoon.
Barmaid Jane Barber said in a statement that Mr McColl arrived at his normal time of 12.30-1pm that day and had his usual pint of Carlsberg followed by four pints of smooth bitter before leaving at 6pm.
She said: ‘He only ever spoke to me and on other customer. He was a very quiet and private individual.’
The trial continues.
