The owner of a dog that savaged a toddler to death begged magistrates not to ban him from keeping the animals.

Urfan Ahmed said although what had happened to his niece, 18-month-old Zumer, had left him and his family devastated, his “life would be over” if they took his dogs away.

But his pleas fell on deaf ears and Ahmed, 32, of Cotton Walk, Crawley, was banned from keeping dogs for five years after he pleaded guilty to owning a dangerous dog at a hearing yesterday.

The charge did not relate to the dog which had killed his niece on April 17 but another of his pets called Shakira, a Dogo Argentino, which is bred specifically for fighting and is banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Prosecutors looked into charging Ahmed with gross negligence manslaughter but decided there was insufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings.

Magistrates fined Ahmed £250 and ordered him to pay £150 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.