Telford baby death: Probe continues over tragic Harry Harper
An investigation into the death of an eight-day-old baby who died after being bitten by a dog in Shropshire was continuing today.
Baby Harry Harper died at the Princess Royal Hospital after the incident involving a Jack Russell at his grandparents home in Woodside Road, Ketley, Telford. His mother Mikayla was at the house with her parents, Gordon Bell, 42, and Teresa, 40, when the tragedy happened on Tuesday.
Police said the dog, named as PJ by neighbours in the area, has been destroyed since the incident.
Mikayla, 19, gave birth to 7lb Harry on November 12 and posted pictures of him on her Twitter page.
Harry's father, trainee electrician Tom Harper, who is also 19, lives in Shifnal with his parents, Andrea and Neville, and older brother Nicholas.
Chris Ammonds, a spokesman for West Mercia Police, said a post mortem examination was due to be held today.
He said results were unlikely to be known until tomorrow.
In a statement released through Telford police, the family said: "We are absolutely devastated by Harry's death and have no words to describe the loss we have suffered.
"At the present time we have no wish to speak publicly about the events and would ask that we are left in peace to grieve and begin to deal with our loss."
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Jamieson, of West Mercia Police, said: "Our investigation is ongoing but it appears that the baby died as a result of a dog bite.
"A post-mortem is taking place to establish the exact cause of this baby's death but at this stage it does appear to be a tragic accident."
After Harry's birth, Miss Bell posted pictures of her new baby on Twitter, and called him 'my life'.
The day before the incident, Miss Bell also tweeted: "Not gonna lie this little boy gets far too many kisses."
Just over a fortnight before giving birth to Harry Miss Bell had tweeted how a family dog had ripped the eye off one of the family's soft toys.
The teenager's profile on her Twitter account also showed two photographs of a terrier-type dog captioned 'my doggy'.
