Saturday 13 August 2022 12:22 AM Brother pays tribute to dog walker, 34, mauled to death by 'XL Bully' as man, ... trends now
The brother of a dog walker who was mauled to death by an 'XL Bully' after he 'collapsed' in a park has paid tribute after a 20-year-old man was arrested in relation to the incident.
Ian 'Wiggy' Symes, 34, was walking a customer’s dog at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, when he was attacked on Hilson Drive this Wednesday. Locals claimed that Mr Symes may have collapsed and had a seizure before the dog he was with ‘ate’ part of his face.
Although paramedics rushed to the scene in Fareham, Hampshire, Mr Symes was pronounced dead not long after.
Police arrested the 20-year-old owner of the dog – which locals claim might have been an XL Bully – for being in charge of an animal ‘dangerously out of control’. A spokesman added that the man has now been released without charge ‘but remains under investigation’.
MailOnline understands that initial enquiries suggest the dog is an XL Bully, which is not an illegal breed.
Ian's brother Martin Symes, a father-of-two, has since visited the park where flowers and messages were laid, and in a touching tribute, he said: 'The past 30 hours have been pretty shocking and very hard to really understand what happened and why.
Ian 'Wiggy' Symes, 34, was walking a customer’s dog at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, when he was attacked on Wednesday. Locals claimed that Mr Symes may have collapsed and had a seizure before the dog he was with ‘ate’ part of his face
Although paramedics rushed to the scene in Fareham, Hampshire, Mr Symes (pictured) was pronounced dead not long after. Police arrested the 20-year-old owner of the dog – which locals claim might have been an XL Bully – for being in charge of an animal ‘dangerously out of control’
'Thanks for all the messages and tributes for my brother. It’s very touching to see the flowers and messages left on the field.
'Crazy to think of all the memories I had playing football on that field and the laughs I had in the school just got wiped from the situation that happened.
'The facts are he was out walking a dog something he loved to do and as sad as it is least he passed away doing something he loved.'
To finish, Martin wrote to his late brother: 'I’m not overly religious but I do believe you go to a better place, and no doubt he’ll be up there already walking his dogs. Rest in peace brother.'
Last month, Joanne Robinson, 43, was mauled to death by an American Bully dog after it ‘turned mad in the extreme heat’ in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
The other six victims of dog maulings this year include three toddlers and a three-month-old baby.
The 34-year-old man died after being mauled by a dog on Hillson Drive, Fareham in Hampshire (located in picture) on Wednesday
Photographs of Mr Symes, who is from Fareham, show him smiling as he poses next to pet Rottweilers on social media.
A mother who lives near the recreation ground said those who were first on the scene found Mr Symes had suffered horrific facial injuries.
The woman, who was in the park to do some photography with her young daughter at the time, said: 'We were in the park before the police arrived.
