An eight-month-old girl has been airlifted to hospital in a serious condition after being attacked by an XL Bully, described by a family member as “normally a very friendly dog”.

Police and paramedics were called to a property in Siskin Close, Hawkinge just before 2.30pm yesterday (Wednesday) following reports a baby had been bitten.

The infant, called Arabella, was flown to a hospital in London, where she remains under medical care.

It has emerged that officers had also been called to the house last year following a report the XL Bully had bitten its owner, who refused to have it put down at the time.

Police have confirmed the dog was seized and destroyed at the scene yesterday.

A spokesperson said: “An 18-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. They remain in custody while enquiries continue.

“Officers will remain in the area while enquiries are carried out and to provide reassurance to the local community.”

Speaking at the scene this morning, Arabella’s great-uncle Martin Williams told KentOnline that the dog was an 18-month-old “pure” XL Bully named Hunter.

He said: “I am very surprised the attack happened as Hunter is normally a very friendly dog. But it’s in their nature to be aggressive.”

Mr William’s partner Stephanie Coombs said: “The dog was lovely. The dog and the baby got on - they were like two peas in a pod.

“The baby would grab the dog. The dog would go over and check the baby, sniff the baby, go off and do its own thing. This was so out of character for Hunter - it came out of nowhere. I just feel so sorry for the family.”

Asked about Arabella’s injuries, she added: “As far as we're aware, she was in ICU last night and it's touch and go but we've just got to be there for the family.”

“It is shocking. You know you see and you hear about it all the time but you don't actually you don't think it's gonna happen to your own family.

“If anything happens to that little girl I don't know what's gonna happen to his family because it's all happened so fast and it's just not fair or nice for anyone is it?”

It has also emerged that Hunter was seized by police in November last year following a report its owner had been bitten on the finger which caused minor injury.

This was before new legislation came in banning people from owning, selling, breeding or giving away XL Bullies came into force.

A police spokesperson said: “The owner was asked to voluntarily surrender the dog to officers for destruction, but declined to do so.

“There were no legal grounds for officers to retain the dog in the circumstances, but the owner was asked to agree to accept the conditions of a police order, which included keeping the dog secure and supervised.”

Police and forensics officers were in the street yesterday evening, with up to nine patrol cars spotted at the scene.

A row of houses remains taped off this morning, with a police car parked outside and officer guarding the cordon.

A builder working nearby told KentOnline this morning: "I've been working here since March and it's normally an incredibly quiet area.

“So when we saw a huge emergency services presence yesterday we were shocked and were wondering what was happening.

“We have since heard about the baby girl involved in the incident and it sounds absolutely horrific."