An inquest has heard how a man was mauled by his sibling’s dogs in Rubery, two of which were XL bullies, as he tried to feed their pets.

Nicholas Glass, 32, was found dead outside his sibling’s home on Hereford Close in Rednal during the early hours of Wednesday 21st August last year.

The inquest at Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard how he was attacked by his brother’s dogs while looking after them before he escaped through a back window, injured, to seek “refuge”.

He was found dead in his garden 26 hours later due to the severe injuries.

West Midlands Police were called to the scene shortly after midnight after neighbours reported they could not get out of their gate as dogs were running loose in the street.

After searching the property, officers went into the house and saw blood on the floor and wall of the bedroom.

West Midlands Police believe up to four dogs were present around the time he was attacked. Two of the dogs were seized by police at the time and the remaining pair were found by officers two miles away near Merritts Hill days later following a major search.

Officers said tests concluded that two of the dogs were of the XL bully banned breed and neither had a certificate of exemption, while the inquest heard the other two dogs were an American bulldog and a mixed breed Staffordshire cross.

West Midlands Police, Detective Constable Darren Ford told the inquest the dogs roaming loose in Hereford Close were large and not “overtly aggressive”, but that firearms officers were called to the scene as a precaution after neighbours reported they could not get out of their gate.

The post-mortem concluded the death was caused by the XL bully dog bites. There were multiple blunt force injuries such as bruises, puncture wounds and tears – keeping with dog bites and claw-related injuries to both arms and legs.

There was also a major injury to the upper left arm, which went down to the humorous bone and showed bite marks.

Faint audio from another CCTV clip taken at 10:35pm that night suggested a person called for help three times.

Although Mr Ford said he could not be sure it was Mr Glass, he believed it could have been.

Assistant coroner Adam Hodson said it was not possible to determine which of the four dogs had attacked Mr Glass, and recorded a narrative conclusion.

He told Mr Glass’s family, who attended the inquest hearing, that despite difficulties with his mental health, he appeared to be a “happy chap” who was a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews.

He said: “I can only hypothesise on what happened. It is entirely possible he may have been attacked upon his return to the house, that he managed to leave the property via a window and called for help and that he managed to hide behind wooden panelling before succumbing to his injuries.

“That is a guess on my part, I cannot make a finding of fact.

“Sadly, Nicholas did die as a result of being bitten by a dog or dogs. He may have been a troubled individual, but there is no evidence of suspicious or foul play.

“In my opinion, it appears to be a terrible tragedy. He was a caring brother and son who simply offered to look after his brother’s dogs and lost his life as a terrible consequence.”

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