XL American Bully: Prime minister Rishi Sunak confirms controversial breed will be banned in the UK by the end of 2023 - days after teenager is attacked in Yorkshire

The statement came the same day as it was confirmed that a man had died after being attacked by two dogs in Staffordshire. Although residents say the animals were XL Bully types, this has not been clarified by police.

A 15-year-old was injured by a Bully owned by their own family in Sheffield last weekend, South Yorkshire Police said yesterday.

Mr Sunak said: “The American XL bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.

“I share the nation’s horror at the recent videos we’ve all seen. Yesterday we saw a another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality. It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, it’s a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.

“While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public.

“Today I have tasked ministers to bring together police and experts, to firstly define the breed of dog behind these attacks, with the view to then outlawing it. It is not currently a breed defined in law, so this vital first step must happen fast.

“We will then ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act and new laws will be in place by the end of the year.

“These dogs are dangerous, I want to reassure the public that we will take all necessary steps to keep people safe.”

South Yorkshire Police released details of the attack on the 15-year-old as they revealed that four children had all been attacked by dogs belonging to their own families in the area on just weekend, September 8-9.

In the most serious incident, a six-year-old girl suffered major facial injuries after being bitten in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, by a suspected pitbull terrier – a banned breed. The dogs involved in the other two attacks, where the victims were aged two and four, in Rossington, Doncaster, and Cudworth, Barnsley, were a German shepherd and a Belgian Malamute. The Bully’s victim suffered minor puncture wounds and has been discharged from hospital.