Accused 'nearly lost his hands' breaking up dog fights

An aspiring rapper told police how he "nearly lost his hands" breaking up three fights between the puppies of two XL bully dogs, a court has heard.

Esther Martin, 68, was mauled to death at Ashley Warren's property in Jaywick, Essex, on 3 February 2024, after being left in charge of the dogs and their eight puppies.

Warren said "the big ones don't fight", but the mother "would get a bit jealous if you would pick up the puppies", Chelmsford Crown Court was told.

The 41-year-old denies three charges, including two of owning or being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death.

"I've tried to break them up on three occasions and I nearly lost my hands. I've got three holes in my hands. They've had three fights since they've been born," Warren told the police afterwards.

One of the attacks came "a couple of days" before the fatal attack, the jury was told.

"I had to literally lift them up by their legs because they were locked; I said 'Get off him, get off him' trying to rip them apart," Warren, who was in London filming a music video at the time of the attack, told police.

The court previously heard the three-and-a-half-month-old puppies had not been properly socialised and were kept in a gated area "totally unsuitable even for a small breed litter, even for a single puppy".

The jury was told the adult dogs were sometimes kept in a bedroom which had a hole in it, so would occasionally open on its own, and Warren put a suitcase in front of it to keep the dogs inside.

"The only thing I can think of is she's gone to break up the pups, but why would they attack her. They've never attacked me," he told the police.

"I just feel so sad, the pain she must have been going through. I just don't understand, why would they do that? They're happy dogs."

The jury heard Esther Martin was "terrified of the dogs".

Junior prosecutor Hannah Gladwell read a statement from her daughter Sonia Martin which said: "She didn't like the dogs jumping up at her and said they could easily knock her off her feet.

She had told Warren the dogs "were dangerous, and they needed to be muzzled. Ashley's response was: 'No one tell me what to do with my dogs'", the court was told.

Her mother was 5ft 2in (1.5m) tall, was waiting for a hip operation - and used a walking stick.

Warren had not walked the dogs for four weeks before the attack because he did not want his animals to die or be seized.

The incident came two days after the government made it a criminal offence to own an XL bully in England and Wales without a certificate of exemption.

The trial previously heard how the defendant had not attempted to get a certificate for any of the 10 dogs.

He also denies a charge of having a bladed article without good reason or lawful authority in a public place after his arrest at Clacton-on-Sea railway station on 3 February.

Warren said the knife was a prop in the rap video he had been making that day in London.

The knife was shown to the jury, who heard from a business owner that such items were listed as throwing knives, instead of props.

The trial continues.

Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.