Grandma is charged over girl, five, killed by pitbull

Jacqueline Simpson, 45, was babysitting Ellie Lawrenson when she was savaged by the six-stone animal in the early hours of New Year's Day.

Yesterday the police and Crown Prosecution Service said they had enough evidence to charge Mrs Simpson with manslaughter due to gross negligence.

They also charged Ellie's 23-year- old uncle Kiel Simpson, who owned the pit bull, with possession of a dangerous dog under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Mrs Simpson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if found guilty.

Lawyers at her trial will have to prove that she had a duty of care towards Ellie, that she was grossly negligent in breaching that duty and that it led to her death.

Mrs Simpson was also charged with possession of diamorphine - the medical equivalent of heroin.

It is understood that both Mrs Simpson and her son attended a police station in St Helens, Merseyside, yesterday morning where they were charged. They were bailed to appear at Liverpool Magistrates' Court next week.

Ellie and her seven-month-old brother, Josh, had been staying at their grandmother's home in St Helens while their parents, Lindsey Simpson, 24, and Darren Lawrenson, 30, celebrated New Year's Eve with friends.

The couple, who live in Great Sankey, Warrington, had returned to collect their children in the early hours but Ellie asked to stay with her grandmother and they left.

Forty minutes later Mrs Simpson rang police to say she and Ellie were being attacked.

Mrs Simpson needed emergency surgery for arm injuries she suffered while trying to stop the 12-month-old pit bull, named Reuben, attacking Ellie.

The dog was shot dead by police marksmen after being cornered in the garden.

Following the attack it emerged that Mr Simpson had twice been warned by the local council about the dog's behaviour.

One of the letters, in May last year, was sent after the pitbull attacked a neighbour's dog.

The second was sent two months later in response to complaints about the dog's barking.

The animal is also believed to have attacked Ellie's 19-year-old aunt, Kelsey, in the weeks before the child's death.

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, Mr Simpson could face up to six months in jail if found guilty.

The pitbull came from the same litter as one linked to a dog fighting ring in the town. Shortly after Ellie's death, officers raided several

premises in Merseyside and seized scores of illegal dogs.

A week-long dog amnesty, allowing owners who feared their pets were on the outlawed list, was also launched by Merseyside police's chief constable, Bernard Hogan-Howe. Around 200 dogs have been handed in from the region.

The fact that Ellie's uncle was allegedly able to buy such a breed, said experts, highlighted the inadequacies of the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act.

Drawn up in haste by the Tory government following a spate of attacks on children, it bans certain breeds from the UK and lays legal blame for attacks on owners.

It outlawed the breeding of four types in particular - the pitbull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the dogo Argentino and the fila Brazileiro - and made it illegal to own these animals unless a court had directed that the dog was on an 'exempt' list.

The dog that killed Ellie was a pitbull hybrid, however. This meant police took more than 24 hours to find out if it was even covered by the Act before concluding that it was an illegal breed.

Detectives spent three months investigating the tragedy before passing their file to the CPS.

Colin Davies, of Merseyside CPS, said he had reached the decision to prosecute Mrs Simpson and her son after "careful consideration" of all the material supplied by police.

Ellie's parents issued a statement after the tragedy saying they had been "absolutely devastated" by their daughter's death.

"She was a little angel, full of life and always running around," they said. "We can't believe she is gone."