A heroic young man was left with horror injuries after he bravely intervened to save a mother and her newborn baby from a vicious dog attack in Cardiff.
William Newbury, 22, had been dropping off gifts for a friend on Mother’s Day when he was forced to leap through a window to stop the attack.
He faced down three out-of-control Staffordshire bull terriers who were mauling a woman and her one-week-old baby inside a house in Llanrumney, South Wales.
Mr Newbury, from Roath, had to endure the attack for 20-minutes before the emergency services arrived and rushed him to hospital.
He was left with such severe injuries that he was rushed to hospital and spent a week receiving treatment with wounds on his leg, hands, arm, side of face, stomach and lower back.
South Wales Police have confirmed that all three dogs involved were destroyed, though no arrests have been made.
William Newbury, 22, had been dropping off gifts for a friend on Mother’s Day when he was thrust into a terrifying ordeal
His injuries were so severe he was rushed to hospital and spent a week receiving treatment with wounds on his leg, hands, arm, side of face, stomach and lower back
William told the BBC about his ordeal: ‘It turned out to be the mother, I went up to the letterbox and looked through and saw the mum and the baby being attacked by three dogs.’
With the door jammed shut, William desperately tried to distract the frenzied animals from outside – but only one turned its attention. The other two continued their attack.
William then spotted a ground floor window ajar – and without hesitation, he clambered through to get to the victims.
‘Luckily there was a downstairs window that was open and I didn’t even think about it, I went straight in,’ he said.
But the dogs soon turned on him in a frenzied assault that left him bleeding, bruised and bitten all over his body.
‘They were all targeting me, nothing I did was stopping them, I was hitting one of the dogs trying to get it to stop, but it didn’t work,’ he said, recalling how he stayed in the house for around 20 agonising minutes before emergency services arrived.
The brave bystander now faces a long road to recovery and has been told he’ll never regain full use of part of his hand.
The brave bystander now faces a long road to recovery and has been told he’ll never regain full use of part of his hand
Mr Newbury, from Roath, had to endure the attack for 20-minutes before the emergency services arrived and rushed him to hospital
The mother and baby were also taken to hospital and treated for injuries which were not life-threatening.
Despite his ordeal, William says he’s determined not to let fear take hold – but admits the trauma has left its mark.
‘I refuse to be scared of dogs, but if a dog comes up to me now, I do step out of its way. I’ve already had one counselling session to get over this, I’ve had nightmares, I can replay the whole situation in my head, it’s horrible,’ he said.
South Wales Police said: ‘South Wales Police was called on Sunday March 30,2025, to Paracombe Crescent in Llanrumney to reports of three dogs having attacked a man, a woman, and a child.
‘All three suffered injuries that required treatment but were not life threatening.
‘Three Staffordshire Bull terriers were put to sleep because of the incident.
‘Investigation into the incident is continuing.’
The baby’s family have set up a fundraiser to help William cover some of his loss of earnings, medical fees and everything that was destroyed in the attack, like his £400 car key and phone.
