Horror as boy, 10, is killed ‘by dog while visiting friend after school’

A 10-year-old boy was killed by a pet dog while visiting a friend after school, according to shocked neighbours.

Police were called after screams were heard coming from a house where children were playing on Monday afternoon.

The boy was mauled to death at the scene by the dog which was then shot dead by a police marksman.

Locals were in tears at the tragic death in the village of Penyrheol, near Caerphilly, South Wales.

The dog, believed to be an American Pitbull, had bitten a customer outside a nearby shop at the weekend.

It had recently been brought into the area and a family volunteered to look after it for a few hours as a favour to the owner.

Shop worker Tarjit Sandhu, 67, said: ‘The little boy who died was at the house with his little friend when the dog attacked.

‘It is a fighting dog, an American pit bull, it hasn’t been in the village very long.

‘A few days ago, it was tied up outside the shop where I work when a man customer bent down to stroke it.

‘The dog bit him on the arm, it was quite a nasty bite.’

Mr Sandhu said the attack had left the community in a state of shock and disbelief. ‘It’s a dreadful thing to happen,’ he said.

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