"It's an absolute tragedy that should never have happened. There's been plenty of warning signs in the past.”

Oh, I suspect this will be such a familiar story…

Previous attacks not dealt with or dismissed as just ‘property damage’? Check!

"Only last year it mauled to death a neighbour's cat and nothing was done about it."

‘Designer’ dog owned and bred for street cred? Check!

Chief Superintendent Chris Bithell of Lancashire Police said "The dog is believed to be an American Pit Bull type, it has been destroyed and tests will be carried out today to establish the exact breed of the dog and inquiries into the history of the animal.

"I'm told its quite a large pit bull type dog."

Typical haphazard parenting? Check!

Ava-Jayne's father, Dean Corless, 24, today paid tribute to his "adorable little girl".

He said she was with her mother and new boyfriend at the house in Blackburn.

"Her mum and I aren't together anymore, but I saw Ava-Jayne all the time - I only saw her at the weekend."

Dean said: "I am just upset because she always told me that she would check with me before Ava-Jayne spent time around other men. "

Yes, it’s got all the hallmarks we've come to expect from this sort of story.

I suppose we can expect the usual suspects to be demanding the government ‘do something’.

And clearly, they should. There should be a campaign of neutering, muzzling and controlling the real problem: feral, out of control, irresponsibly breeding chavs.