A man has pleaded not guilty to owning or being in charge of two XL bully dogs which killed a woman.

Ashley Warren, 40, appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, where he denied two charges relating to the dogs, named in court papers as Beauty and Bear, which killed Esther Martin, 68, in Jaywick, Essex, on February 3 this year.

The defendant, of High Road, Leytonstone, east London, wore a brown shirt and black trousers as he appeared in the dock.

Warren pleaded not guilty to being the owner of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully named Bear, and pleaded not guilty to being in charge of a dog which caused injury resulting in death while dangerously out of control in a private place, namely an XL bully called Beauty.

Warren also pleaded not guilty to having a bladed article.

Essex Police previously said the case was the first to be charged since new laws on owning XL bullies came into force earlier this year.

An inquest hearing was told Ms Martin was found unresponsive inside a property in Hillman Avenue and had sustained “unsurvivable” dog bite wounds.

Ms Martin, who was staying at the address in Hillman Avenue but lived in Woodford Green, east London, was found with “two large dogs”, an inquest was told, as proceedings were opened then suspended pending the outcome of the police investigation.

The medical cause of her death was recorded as “dog bite wounds to the upper right limb”.

Two dogs were destroyed at the scene and they were later confirmed by Essex Police to be XL bullies.

A three-to-four week trial was fixed for August 11 2025.

Warren was given conditional bail.