Police investigate owner of Pitbull for manslaughter after it kills 67-year-old grandmother

The owner of a stray dog which killed an animal-loving gran is being investigated on suspicion of manslaughter. Anne Shields, 67, took in the Pitbull called Choccy to live at her holiday home as it was starving.

Anne suffered "catastrophic" injuries to her head and arm after the dog turned on her, according to reports. She died several days later in hospital. Neighbours heard Anne’s screams at her home in Macastre, near Valencia, and raised the alarm. Police who rushed to the address shot the dog so medics could reach Anne.

Her daughter Sarah, from Preston, said the 67-year-old couldn’t bear to cast Choccy back onto the street and that what happened to her is a "nightmare".

Today police investigators said in their first official comments that the dog’s owner had been identified despite it having no microchip. They also confirmed he had been banned from owning pit bulls and other dogs classified as “potentially dangerous” in Spain because of previous offences.

He has been described as a 35-year-old Spaniard but has not been named by detectives. A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Valencia near Anne’s property in Macastre said: “The Civil Guard is investigating the owner of a dog that attacked a woman in Macastre in February who ended up dying as a result of her injuries.

“The 67-year-old British victim had to be rushed to hospital after officers killed the animal with their weapons so they could assist her due to the animal’s aggressiveness. She died a day after being admitted to hospital because of the wounds to her arms.

“The victim had found the animal in an acute state of malnutrition and showing clear signs of abandonment, with illnesses like canine scabies, four days before it ended her life. She was warned by the