Woman Arrested After Her 'Loose' Dog Allegedly Attacked 2 Children By Charlotte Phillipp

A woman in England has been arrested after her dog allegedly attacked two children.

According to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in Bolton, located about 12 miles outside Manchester, officers were alerted to a reported dog attack on the city’s Halliwell Road on Monday, Jan. 5.

Two children had been bitten by a loose dog, police said, and were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

On Friday, Jan. 9, officers announced that they had arrested a 47-year-old woman on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.

The two children have since been discharged from the hospital, and the dog has been seized and taken to a kennel for assessment. The woman is currently in custody for questioning, police said.

The woman’s arrest came just days after a similar incident in Bolton.

GMP said on Wednesday, Jan. 7, that they received a report of an “out-of-control dog biting a woman” on Wolfenden Street.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, sustained minor injuries in the incident, PEOPLE reported earlier this week.

The dog was seized following the attack near Rawsthorne Park, and one arrest was made. The suspect, however, was released on bail for further inquiries.

“The suspect arrested was not walking the dog at the time but is the owner and has a duty to ensure it is in control of someone responsible,” a GMP spokesperson told PEOPLE. “We are still trying to identify the person who was walking the dog at the time of the attack.”

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Police confirmed to PEOPLE that the two cases were unrelated and involved different dogs.

Dog attacks have become a hot topic in the U.K. in recent years, particularly amid the ban placed on the XL bully breed — though the breeds of the dogs involved in these two incidents have not been made public.

In December 2023, XL bullies were added to the list of dogs banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991. It’s now against the law to breed, sell, abandon, give away or knowingly let a stray in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption. Additionally, in February 2024, owning an XL bully without an exemption certificate was criminalized, per the BBC.

There are no official statistics on dog attacks by breed in the U.K., but according to police data collected by the BBC, dog attacks in England and Wales have increased by 34% over the past five years.