A dad-of-three who was killed by his pet dog had been bitten by the animal on two previous occasions, an inquest has heard.

Stephen Hodgson, 45, died after suffering horrific injuries to his head and neck in a "ferocious" 10-minute attack by Staffordshire bull/pit bull cross Buster in the family home on May 22.

Mr Hodgson's daughters, Jade and Carla, tried desperately to prise the animal off their stricken father, the inquest heard, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

An inquest into the tragedy heard that three-year-old Buster had twice bitten Mr Hodgson in the months prior to the fatal attack once on the arm – for which he required hospital treatment – as he tried to separate a fight between Buster and one of the family's other three dogs, and a second time on the ear when Buster "just went for him".

On the day of Mr Hodgson's death, assistant coroner Robert Chapman concluded, there was "no indication of what caused the dog to attack".

Mr Chapman delivered a narrative verdict that Mr Hodgson died "from injuries when his neck, face and head had been bitten by a dog."