Horror as girl, four, mauled to death by dog from animal charity: Mother stabbed pet in desperate bid to save her daughter

A girl of four died yesterday after being mauled by a dog her mother rehomed from an animal charity weeks ago.
Lexi Hudson was playing with the ‘enormous’ French Mastiff-cross when it pounced.
Neighbours said her mother Jodi was forced to stab the animal in order to free her daughter as she was shaken ‘like a rag doll’.

Tragic: Lexi Hudson was attacked at her flat in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, with neighbours saying they heard the screams of her mother Jodi, 30, who emerged from the house with blood and mud on her

Killed: Lexi, four, is pictured with a French Mastif believed to be the dog that attacked her in Leicestershire

Horror: Neighbours said they heard the screams of Lexi's (left) mother Jodi Hudson (pictured together, left) who emerged from the house with blood and mud on her

The 30-year-old was then seen running into the street screaming and covered in blood moments after the lunchtime attack. 

Friends last night claimed the animal had suffered abuse at the hands of a previous owner and may have been spooked by a firework exploding nearby.

It is understood Lexi started at school in September, but had stayed at home in the one-bedroom flat in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, yesterday because she was poorly.
Miss Hudson is thought to have been comforting Lexi in bed when the dog– believed to be called Moulin – attacked.
When it failed to release its grip she ran to grab a knife in a bid to stop the attack. The youngster was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham where she later died.
Family friend Paul Ryan said: ‘Lexi was always playing with it. It’s obviously a huge dog, and Lexi wouldn’t have stood a chance if it went for her – she’s such a small little girl.’
He added: ‘I saw Jodi as they were taking Lexi away to hospital – she was in hysterics, and kept saying that she was told that the dog was safe around children.’
Describing how the dog suddenly ‘went mental’ and attacked Lexi, he said: ‘Her mum was screaming and trying to pull the dog’s head away but it wouldn’t give in. She had to use a knife to release its jaw.’

Dog: Neighbours said Lexi's family had owned the animal - believed to be pictured here - for four weeks

He said the dog had suffered abuse in the past and had recently been picked up from a rescue centre by Miss Hudson, who thought it had ‘a very soft nature’.

FEARSOME CASTLE GUARDS

• The French mastiff is an extremely powerful breed. The dogs were once used to pull carts and guard the castles of the European elite.
• Male French mastiffs can reach a weight of 8st 2lb (52kg) and can grow to a height of 27in (69cm). They usually live for between five and eight years.
• The breed was first registered with the UK Kennel Club in 1996.
• The dogs are thought to have the largest head in the canine world in proportion to the rest of their body.

Arthur Nash, a 67-year-old retired driver, said: ‘I saw Jodi after it happened. She was stood in the car park covered in blood.
'Apparently she stabbed the dog to death. I held her hand for a little while but she was totally gone. She just wasn’t with it. She was in complete and utter shock.’
Miss Hudson is thought to have worked at a law firm in Leicester before having a child.
Neighbours said she was estranged from Lexi’s father and ‘doted’ on her daughter, who had been born three months premature.
In April last year she joined a website where members can buy and sell dogs, using the username ‘Lexismommy’.
Residents said the ground-floor flat where Lexi died is owned by a housing association, which prohibits tenants from keeping dogs.

Leicestershire Police said nobody had been arrested in connection with the offence but an investigation continues.

Officers said the animal, which died, was not thought to be a breed listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

'Her mum was screaming and trying to pull the dog’s head away but it wouldn’t give in. She had to use a knife to release its jaw'
Paul Ryan, family friend

The housing association said to own Miss Hudson’s ground-floor flat, Birmingham-based Friendship Care and Housing, was unavailable for comment.
The RSPCA also did not return repeated calls last night.
The incident comes after Beverley Concannon, 45, was last month given a suspended sentence after four of her dogs savaged a 14-year-old to death.
Two American bull mastiffs and a pair of pit bulls killed Jade Lomas-Anderson at a house in Greater Manchester.

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