Pit bull attacks mourners

Three mourners have been badly bitten after pet pit bull terrier called Tyson went berserk following a Glasgow funeral.

The dog's owner, Ann Marie McGrory, 29, was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary for emergency surgery.

The apparently unprovoked attack ended when the dog died after fighting for a quarter of an hour with police.

Mrs McGrory's brother, Brian Samut, 25, and a family friend, Claire McGuire, 24, were also badly bitten.

They were mourning the death of Mr Samut's mother in a flat in the Possilpark area of the city when the dog attacked.

When Ms McGuire and Mr Samut escaped they called the police.

A 15-minute battle followed. A dog-handler lassoed the pit bull but was unable to control it.

At the end of its struggle with five officers and three dog-handlers, Tyson collapsed and died.

Colette Kase, Animal Welfare Manager at the National Canine Defence League, said the arrival of many police may have aggravated the pit bull.

"He probably became defensive and felt threatened," she said. "It seems to have been a terrifying and horrifying accident for everyone including the dog."

Ms Kase added: "Our view is that if both the people and the dog were placed in highly unusual and abnormal situations then you wouldn't expect either of them to behave normally.

"If people had been drinking then it wouldn't have been a normal situation."

Mrs McGrory, whose husband Christopher was found dead in the back of his van last year, may need to have plastic surgery on her injured arms and legs, Glasgow Royal Infirmary said.