Man, 24, is rushed to hospital after horrific dog attack by Pitbull-type breed - as armed police descend on housing estate

A 24-year-old man was rushed to hospital with serious injuries today after being savaged by a dog.

Armed police descended on a cul-de-sac in Port Talbot following the horrific incident at 7am. 

The road, Blair Way, was locked down and the animal sedated before being removed from the scene by a specialist dog unit. 

South Wales Police said the breed was a pitbull or Staffordshire bull terrier cross. 

Witnesses said they saw armed police and an ambulance helicopter arrive on the quiet residential street.

A police spokesman added: 'A 24-year-old man has been taken to hospital by Air Ambulance with serious injuries.

'The dog has been sedated and removed from the scene by Police Dog units. Our investigation is ongoing.'

The Welsh Ambulance Service said: 'We were called on today at 7:14am to reports of an incident at Nobel Avenue, Port Talbot. 

'We sent one emergency ambulance to the scene.

'Advanced critical care support was delivered by the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service in a Wales Air Ambulance charity helicopter. One person was taken by road to hospital.'

One of the UK's most recent fatal dog attacks saw a mother of two mauled to death by her two XL Bully dogs in Hornchurch, East London. 

Angeline Mahal, who was in her 50s, died at home in the first deadly attack by a registered XL Bully since the breed was banned in February. 

The two dogs were seized by police - some bearing riot shields - after being contained in a room.

Recent figures showed dog attacks have risen by a fifth in one year, with police recording more than 80 incidents a day.

Police forces recorded 30,539 offences of a dog injuring a person or a guide dog last year, an investigation by the BBC found, increasing from 25,291 in 2022.

In March, an XL Bully was killed by armed police after going on a rampage and injuring four people in Battersea, south-west London.

Shocking footage on social media shows four men fending off the 'dangerously out of control' dog after it got into a frenzy on a street close to Battersea Park Road.

One man can be seen hitting the dog with a bike helmet while another tries to cover it with a blanket in a desperate attempt to subdue the animal.

A second video shows police and ambulance crews descending on the scene, before armed officers later shot the dog due to the threat it posed to the public.

Four men were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and a man, 22, and a woman, 21, arrested of owning a dog that was dangerously out of control.