A LIVERPOOL Army recruit was warned he could be facing jail over the illegal dog which savaged his young nephew to death.

Christian Foulkes, 22, appeared at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court yesterday to admit possession of two banned pitbull-type dogs and allowing such dogs to breed.

His dog, Uno, turned on his four-year-old nephew, John Paul Massey, as the youngster slept at his grandmother’s home in Ash Grove, Wavertree, on November 30 last year.

Uno was left at the house by Foulkes when he moved out to join the Army just weeks before.

Joanne Parsons, prosecuting, told the court the youngster and his older brother Craig, 14, were staying with grandmother Helen Foulkes while their parents Angela McGlynn and John Massey had a night out.

Ms Parsons said John Paul got up during the night and asked for something to eat, but as his grandmother was getting some crisps from the kitchen, he fell asleep on the couch. She said the dog then attacked him and when Mrs Foulkes went to pull the dog off, it attacked her, too.

Uno had to be distracted by the police before an ambulance crew could safely get inside, the court was told.

The dog was shot twice in the garden of the house by police marksmen.

The court was told Foulkes previously had another pitbull-type dog, named Lita, which he gave to John Paul’s father.

Ms Parsons said Lita died days after John Paul, when she was run over after being allowed out of the house.

A post-mortem revealed Lita was pregnant with a litter of 11 puppies and had previous litters, but a fourth charge of giving an illegal dog as a present was dropped by the prosecution, who said it was not in the public interest to proceed with it in light of the guilty pleas.

A third dog, named Lucky, was also kept by Foulkes, the court heard, but was killed by the other two.

Foulkes was supported in court yesterday by his sister, John Paul’s mother, who was in tears at the end of the hearing.

District Judge Richard Clancy told Foulkes: “I am sure you appreciate this is an extremely serious matter.

“Because of the serious nature, the court is considering custody.”

Mark Ellis, defending Foulkes, said his client wanted to “thank the police for the very professional and diligent way they handled the investigation”.