Martin GriffithsAn army veteran who stepped in to stop a woman getting attacked by an XL bully has described the sentence given to its owner as “ridiculous”.
Martin Griffiths, 41, a 6ft 5in (1.95m) kickboxing instructor, grabbed the dog and held the animal down until police arrived in Wrexham city centre.
Victim Yasmin Begum was left with teeth marks on her forehead after she was grabbed by the head, and had her hijab pulled off in the attack last August.
Last week, Tomasz Wegner, 45, of Acrefair, Wrexham, admitted owning a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury, but had his 15-month sentence suspended for two years.
Mr Griffiths described how he had been in a cafe with his children and heard a “commotion outside” with “horns blowing, people shouting and screaming”.
The former Welsh Guard feared there had been a terrorist attack or major incident, so ran out and saw a woman lying on the floor with a dog “dragging her around” by the head.
It was a “large, stocky, silver chocolatey” dog attacking Ms Begum in front of her children and, after its muzzle slipped off, Mr Griffiths feared things could escalate further out of control.
As he moved closer, the dog went for him, and he said he “moved out the way and the dog missed – but at that stage I realised just how potentially dangerous that task was”.
“[I] ran up there, grabbed the dog and tried to get the dog off her as best as I could,” he said.
“I was already in the middle of it, so I couldn’t let go of the dog. I kept hold and calmed it down again.”
He was also able to put the dog’s muzzle back on.
Since February 2024 it has been illegal to own an XL bully in Wales and England unless their owner has been granted an exemption certificate.
Registered dogs must be housed securely, neutered, kept on a lead and muzzled in public.
At Mold Crown Court, Wegner initially claimed the dog, called Ari, was not an XL bully and was just being friendly, wanting to greet Ms Begum.
He initially denied the charges, but changed his plea just before a trial was due to start.
Prosecutor Laura Knightly told the court Ms Begum moved away when she saw Wegner walking the dog because she was scared.
“She ran into a doorway and attempted to get away from the dog,” she said.
“The defendant followed her and shouted at her aggressively in the doorway she was hiding in.
“The dog then grabbed and dragged her. It removed her hijab and tried to bite her forehead.”
The court heard the defendant appeared to fall on top of Ms Begum at one point, and a witness noticed he was intoxicated, with the incident leaving her traumatised.
In a victim impact statement read out in court by Ms Knightly, Ms Begum said Wegner had shouted abuse at her “without any provocation” and “indirectly caused me to be set on by his dog through his actions”.
She said her son and daughter witnessed the attack and were extremely frightened, and she was “highly concerned” about her own personal safety and that of her children.
Defence barrister Joshua Gorst said the dog had never attacked anyone before the “unpleasant incident”, and Wegner believed it to be a “Cane Corso” not an XL bully.
He described it as “calm and gentle” before the attack, and also said Wegner had now “got a handle” on his alcoholism.
Judge Simon Mills sentenced Wegner to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also disqualified from keeping a dog for two years, with the XL bully destroyed.
PA MediaMr Griffiths dismissed those who have called him a hero on social media, saying: “I don’t think I’m a hero, I just did what I believe anyone would have done in that situation.
“No-one deserves to be attacked like that. It’s shocking.”