In the country’s “dangerous dog capital”, owners parade their XL Bullies around the park and use public spaces as illegal breeding grounds at night, it is claimed.
Locals speak of being too frightened to walk down the street, and of being wary of taking young children out for the day.
Figures released in May by NHS England revealed that you are almost 10 times more likely to be bitten by a dog in Knowsley, Merseyside, than the rest of Britain.
Doctors in the area see more than 24 people each year with dog bites, 60 per cent higher than the national average of 15.
The RSPCA has renewed calls for the Government to take urgent action after a ninth person, Ann Dunn, of Liverpool, was killed by dogs.
The Mirror is calling for change through our Time for Action on Dangerous Dogs campaign as an investigation found that in two years there has been a 26 per cent hike in dog attacks.
To read more from our Dog Attack Britain series click here .
In Knowsley, one resident, who wished to remain anonymous, described the number of dangerous dogs roaming her community, including Stadt Moers Park, as “appalling”.
She said: “There’s been at least four dog-on-dog attacks recently in this park. Only the other day a dog had its throat ripped out and was left with 500 stitches. It’s a miracle it survived.
“This is my fear all the time. What scares me is that it could be a child next.
“It’s macho-ism, it’s young men who own these dogs. You have all these Bullies going around, all these pitbull crosses, and they rule the roost, they do what they want to do.”
The resident added: “They have even been here breeding the dogs of a night.”
Resident Kathy Brogan, 71, said the situation made her reconsider where she can take her three-year-old grandson, Finn, and pet dog.
She said: “It makes us wary of where we walk. You do hear about dogs attacking kids and dogs attacking other dogs in Knowsley. There was a child attacked just the other day.
“We get a lot of people with powerful dogs, some of them off the lead, and it’s frightening.”
Less than five miles away, in St Helens, attacks average 19 per year. Two children here have lost their lives.
One St Helens woman told of being attacked by a Rottweiler last year.
The 47-year-old, who did not want to be named, said: “The girl had to punch her own dog in the head several times to get it off me. It was trying to rip my arm off. I thought I was going to bleed out.”
The woman, who had to have surgery, said she was haunted by physical and mental scars.
She said: “I didn’t leave the house for weeks. Whenever I see a large dog coming towards me I have to cross the road and if I can’t I will turn back round. The number of powerful breeds in the area is scary.
“The scales are heavily tipped towards the larger breeds and I think it’s incredibly irresponsible. I have no issue with specific breeds but know how to handle it if you are going to get one, don’t put us all at risk.”
Dr Sam Gaines of the RSPCA said laws targeting certain breeds would be fundamentally flawed and risked lulling the public into thinking some dogs were dangerous and others were safe.
She added: “We need legislation that better protects public safety and dog welfare, ensures responsible dog ownership, allows better education to keep people safe around dogs, and allows early intervention to help dogs with behavioural concerns.
“This includes measures that deter and punish owners of dogs whose behaviour is deemed dangerous.”
