'8 XL BULLYS IN THE HOUSE'

Locals' battle to save gran, 68. She tried to stop pups' fight

- ADAM ASPINALL

ESTHER Martin's daughter has told how the owner of the dogs that mauled her mother to death shrugged off warnings they were dangerous, saying: "Nobody can tell me what to do with my dogs." 

Kelly Fretwell, 46, said there were eight "XL Bullys" in the house at the time of the attacks - six puppies and the two adult dogs which killed Esther as she visited her grandson.

Kelly said: "There could have been two victims, my nephew had to witness all this violence. He could have been killed as well." Kelly's sister Sonia Martin told how their mother had previously expressed concerns about the animals. Sonia was told the puppies had started fighting and Esther had been told by the dogs' owner to "put a broom in among them, to distract them". Sonia said: "That's when she was attacked by the other dogs.

The owner was named locally as Esther's son-in-law Ashley Warren, a rap artist calling himself Wyless Man.

In November, he posted an ad selling XL Bully pups at £500 each.

Esther, 68, was visiting her 11-year-old grandson in Jaywick, Essex, from her home in Woodford Green, East London, when the dogs turned on her on Saturday at around 4pm.