Unfortunately, I suspect that a lot of the dogs you are seeing are cross breeds or staffordshires, which are not banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

I had cause to look at the Act in detail a couple of years ago and unless the dog falls strictly within the breeds listed there's not a great deal you can do - unless of course it attacks you or someone else - in which case it must be put down. Not exactly much consolation if you or someone close to you has been badly injured.

I am genuinely convinced that the bull terriers and rotweilllers etc are dangerous dogs if they do not have responsible owners who know what they're doing. What would be better would be some form of screening when people get dogs to see whether that type of dog is suitable for that person in the environment in which they live. The difficuolty, as always, would be enforcement.