Swindon dog owners have given their thoughts on XL Bully dogs after the breed recently hit headlines over a vicious attack on a child.

The Swindon Advertiser spoke to people walking their dogs around the town about their own safety, and that of their beloved pets, after an 11-year-old girl and two men were attacked and hospitalised in Birmingham by a dog of that breed.

The incident has sparked a debate over whether the large dog should be banned. It has been reported that in the last two years, eight out of 14 fatal dog attacks in the UK came from this type of dog.

Swindon man Paul Lawrence, who owns springer spaniel Daisy and a Cavachon called Honey, is very cautious with his dogs and won’t tolerate aggressive behaviour.

He said that if a dog is acting that aggressively, then it should be put down.

“Everything the dog does; the owner is responsible for. If you have worries then you shouldn’t own the dog," he said.

"No matter how much you love it, you cannot have a dog running around and attacking people, you are never going to get 100% certainty that they won’t hurt someone.

“If they are vicious dogs then owners shouldn’t have them if they’re not responsible."

Shannon Beal who owns Margot, a Dolly, is fearful of large dogs.

She said: “It worries me because if a dog like that was to grab hold of her, I don’t think I could do anything.Swindon Advertiser: Margot, Shannon's Dolly

 “A dog with a head bigger than mine and jaws that lock would make me a little bit nervous.

“There is an XL Bully around my area and he is lovely but with a dog that has that kind of strength, the risk is always going to be greater."

On banning the breed, Shannon said: “Maybe it is a bit drastic because other things can be put in place like vetting the person it is going to so not everyone can own one.

“You’re probably never going to stop people breeding them.”

Christina Clements owns Coco, a rescue dog said: “I am very mindful when I see a big dog.

“Maybe there is something about the bully that makes it aggressive and maybe it needs to be banned.

“If they look into it because they have had a few more incidents, maybe they should look at it because if it’s a smaller child it could kill them.

“I wouldn’t like to think that every time a dog bit someone, it wouldn’t get banned, I would hope they would look into it."