Two people suffered horror injuries after XL bully was ordered to "kill" during terrifying street row

Colin Pearson, who was out with the dog named King, got into a violent row with Kurtis Rutter in Hendon, Sunderland, and told the animal to "get him, kill him".

Newcastle Crown Court heard the dog savaged the intended target then while totally out of control "caused havoc in the streets" and attacked Jake Moan, who had bravely tried to help Mr Rutter.

The court heard the animal "latched on" during the attacks on the two victims and left them both with serious injuries that required hospital treatment.

The dog was tasered by a police officer at the scene before being humanely destroyed by a vet.

Pearson, 44, of Noble Street, Sunderland, who has 165 offences on his record, admitted two charges of being in charge of a dangerously out of control dog and has been jailed for three years.

Prosecutor Joe Hedworth told the court Pearson had encountered Mr Rutter at a shop in Hendon on November 3 last year and said he had had the dog for two weeks and "wanted to get rid of it".

After a violent argument started between the two men, Pearson told King to "get him, kill him" as Mr Rutter walked away.

Mr Hedworth said: "The dog sprinted towards him and jumped up and knocked him to the ground.

“The dog repeatedly bit him on the arms, on his neck, jaw and ears and is described as appearing to latch on."

The court heard the dog then turned on Mr Moan, who had tried to assist the first victim and latched on to his arm, which he tried to pull away and tore the wound further.

The animal then returned to Mr Rutter and bit his legs and crotch.

Mr Hedworth told the court: "It was a sustained attack in the middle of the day when numerous members of the public were present, including an elderly person."

Both men have been let traumatised by what happened that day.

The court heard Pearson, who was on two suspended sentences at the time, did attempt to hit the dog to get it back under control but Judge Robert Spragg said it was "too little, too late".

Judge Spragg said the injuries to the two men were "horrific", footage from the scene was "horrendous to watch" and added: "You can see members of the public jumping out of the way as the dog roams around looking for people to attack.

"They both suffered very unpleasant injuries and the affects of what happened clearly will be long lasting, physically and mentally."

The judge added: "CCTV and photographs show the dog totally out of control, causing havoc in the streets as people try to get out of the way."

Pearson told probation officials he had a background of being homeless and substances misuse.

Christopher Knox, defending, said Pearson was not the owner of the dog, what happened was "spur of the moment" and added: "He did get a stick to try and get the dog to stop doing what it was doing. He was completely unable to control the dog."