A husky racing couple whose three-month-old daughter was attacked and killed by one of their dogs during a training run has been spared jail after a judge described it as a case of  “terrible circumstances aligning”.

Baby Kyra King suffered fatal head and neck injuries when she was mauled in her pram by a Siberian husky sled dog called Blizzard, which escaped from a van it was being transported in.

Vince King, 55 and Karen Alcock, 41, who owned 19 huskies bred to compete in sled racing events, had been exercising the dogs in woodland near their home in Lincolnshire at 11.30pm on 6 March 2022.

They were rotating the sledding teams when Blizzard escaped through the front passenger door which had been left open and attacked the baby as she slept in her pram.

Lincoln Crown Court heard that Blizzard had never caused any issues previously and was not considered to pose a danger to a child.

Alcock, a veterinary nurse, later suggested the only reason she could think to explain the attack was that the dog, which was pregnant, had not eaten fully.

The court was told that King, who was the legal owner of the animals, competed nationally as a husky sled racer.