ARMED police shot dead a dangerous dog after it escaped and went on the rampage in Bishop's Waltham, writes Maxwell Kusi-Obodum.

The American bulldog was brought down on Sunday after breaking free in the early hours.
Now the force is defending its actions warning that the animal was a danger to the public and revealing it had a violent past.

Police launched an emergency appeal for residents to avoid the dog when it escaped around 1am on Sunday and ran off into the night.

Officers were already seeking a destruction order for the animal after its owner agreed for it to be voluntarily seized after it bit four people.

But the large breed, weighing around 11 stone (70 kg) and white in colour, managed to break free while it was being held.

Police warned people to steer clear of it and ring them immediately rather than approach it themselves.

Specialist firearms officers eventually caught up with it in the town at 11am yesterday and decided to destroy it to prevent it hurting anyone.

A spokeswoman for Hampshire police said: “The dog escaped in Bishop’s Waltham and posed a risk to the public. Because of the nature of the dog and the location it was found, it was not safe or practical to try to capture it. 

"Therefore, with public safety being the overriding factor, the dog was destroyed.”

The dog’s death sparked a heated row on social media.

Samantha Morgan-Harris wrote on the force’s website: “Destroyed – how, if the poor thing could not be caught safely? Such a shame. It must have been terrified.”

Helen Travers wrote: “It’s the owners who should be punished not the poor dog. I hope there was proof this dog was violent. And not just thought so because of the breed.”

But Amanda Misselbrook wrote: “While I feel sorry for the dog, if they hadn’t stopped the dog and it hurt or killed a child everyone would be up in arms why the police didn’t stop it sooner. 

"Police don’t go around routinely shooting stray dogs so clearly it was known how dangerous this dog was.”

Darren Hall wrote: “The police have done their job to protect us. 

"Although a great shame, a delay in dealing with the situation could have led to a child or adult's death.

“Just such a shame it couldn’t have been tranquilised however to bring down an animal of that size safely you would have to be absolutely sure you used enough of the drug.”