Boy, 3, died in ‘ferocious’ dog attack ‘after parents allowed him to wander into pen unsupervised’

A boy of three died in a ‘ferocious’ dog attack at a farm after allegedly wandering into a pen out of sight of his parents, a court heard.

Daniel Twigg was fatally mauled at Carr Farm in Milnrow, near Rochdale, while being ‘alone and unsupervised’, the prosecution allege.  

His parents Mark Twigg, 43, and Joanne Bedford, 37, are on trial at Manchester Crown Court accused of the toddler’s manslaughter. 

Daniel allegedly entered a pen where two large, ‘dangerous’ 50kg dogs, a Cane Corso called Sid and a Boerboel or Boerboel cross named Tiny, were kept. 

The animals, which belonged to the farm owner, were used as guard dogs and for breeding and were not family pets, prosecutor John Elvidge KC told the court. 

Mr Elvidge said the pair were ‘deliberately kept outside’ in enclosed pens and the jury heard how the RSPCA had warned they were a danger. 

He told the court that while steps had been taken to prevent them escaping, ‘no effective precautions were taken to keep Daniel out’. 

Daniel is seen in a neighbour’s CCTV entering the pen at 12.50pm before moving around inside briefly and then disappearing from view, the court was told.  

A dog in an adjacent pen became ‘excited, bouncing up and down in animated fashion’ at the same time as the attack on May 15, 2022. 

The prosecution say this ‘coincides with the beginning of a ferocious and prolonged attack’ on Daniel, who suffered catastrophic injuries, principally to his head and neck, which were consistent with the ‘predatory behaviour of dogs’, Mr Elvidge told the court.  

Daniel’s mother made a 999 call almost 20 minutes after her son had been in the pen, the jury heard.

Sid was the most ‘likely’ culprit, the court was told.  

Mr Elvidge said: ‘No-one suggests that these catastrophic events were intended or desired by his parents, but this attack and Daniel’s death were utterly foreseeable consequences of negligently allowing Daniel to enter Sid and Tiny’s pen alone and unsupervised.

‘It is the prosecution case that his parents were aware that Daniel could enter the pen if he was left unsupervised.’ 

The pen was accessed through gates secured by a Karabiner clip – rather than a secure lock – that could ‘easily’ be slipped open, the jury was told.  

The parents, who have two other children, had a ‘long association’ with the farm, with Twigg working as an odd-job man, including looking after the dogs, and Bedford keeping horses there.  

They continued to have responsibility for the dogs on weekends when the owner was away, and that was when Daniel was attacked, the prosecution allege.

Mr Elvidge told the court that the animals had been kept in ‘filthy and disgusting conditions’ and the couple, who had eight or nine dogs of their own, were aware of concerns raised by the RSPCA and a warning that Daniel ‘might be bitten’. 

The RSPCA inspectors had expressed concerns about Daniel being around the dogs and they mentioned a recent fatal attack involving a small child, but they were ‘disregarded’ by the couple, the court heard. 

Incidents involving dogs at the farm were said to include the animals escaping, biting people and fighting each other.

Police were also aware that ‘dangerous’ dogs at the farm were being injured and neglected, the jury was told.

Signs of ‘neglect’ of Daniel and that he was ‘in danger’ from the dogs were raised by Rochdale Children’s Services when they visited the farm just three days before the attack, the jury was told.  

Twigg and Bedford, of Radcliffe, Bury, both deny charges of gross negligence manslaughter and being in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control. 

The trial continues. 

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