Dog attack stories from our #TakeTheLead investigation heard in Westminster
We join MPs and campaigners to ask how we stop a continuing increase in dog attacks
The rising number of people being victim of dog attacks, as highlighted by our #TakeTheLead investigation, is being discussed in the Houses of Parliament.
The All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group are in Westminster examining the rise in dog bites and looking at potential solutions.
As well as hearing from experts, the group will hear stories from our campaign, including emotional and heartbreaking interviews conducted by our reporters across the country.
#TakeTheLead
We started our #TakeTheLead campaign after finding that the number of people hospitalised by dog bites has doubled in the last 25 years.
Figures show hospitals in England treated close to nine thousand people who'd been involved in dog attacks last year.
That's more than twice the rate people were being admitted in 1998 - with the rise driven predominantly by an increase in bites on adults.
In March, we brought you an exclusive story showing that on average three children are treated in hospital every day in England for serious injuries caused by dogs.
The data, secured by MFR's Freedom of Information request to NHS England, shows how common the dog bite incidents are, and the demands they are placing on the NHS.
Increase in dog bites
Our teams of journalists across the UK have found themselves reporting on more and more dog attacks.
Just a few days ago we reported that a woman in her 70s died after being attacked by a dog in Warwickshire.
Our team in Cornwall recently spoke to a Grandma who was mauled by a dog while she was on holiday in St Ives.
In Grimsby a pet hospital spoke to us about the number of attacks increasing.
Earlier this year a four-year-old girl died after being attacked by a dog in Milton Keynes, while a 15-year-old girl was "significantly" injured in Sheffield after a dog attack.
Researchers have told us number of hospitalisations have doubled in a 25 year period, while surgeons have seen that increase on the coal face.
Christian Duncan is a plastic surgeon at Alder Hey Children's hospital in Liverpool.
He's told our Take the Lead investigation he and his team are dealing with around one dog bite case per day during the summer months, when more incidents occur.
He said: "Back in 2008 we had roughly 120 (cases) per annum at Alder Hey and that has gone up and up and up and up, and by 2016 the through-the-door numbers were about 157 per year. It peaked in 2020 at above 230.
"It's settled down a little bit, but it's still at a very high level of over 200 per year. You're talking about two cases every three days."