Woman 'Mauled To Death By Daughter's Dogs'

A 71-year-old woman has died after she is believed to have been mauled by her daughter's dogs as she went to feed them.

Neighbours reported hearing screams and dogs barking as the woman went to feed the pets in the back garden of the home in Morden, South London.

The police were called at around 6.25pm yesterday but the woman was dead when they arrived. She had suffered multiple injuries.

Officers seized five dogs including two Bordeaux bulldogs, two American bulldogs and a mongrel from the property in Rutland Drive.

Neighbour Kevin Hamilton told Sky News he heard screaming and dogs barking at about 5.15pm.

A spokeswoman for Scotland Yard said none of the animals were banned breeds and no arrests had been made.

She said of the victim: "She had sustained a number of injuries. An investigation is under way to establish a cause of death."

A post-mortem examination is due to be carried out at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London.

Two adjoining semi-detached houses - seven and nine Rutland Drive - were cordoned off by police.

Friends and family of the woman gathered inside number nine, while a police officer guarded the entrance to number seven.

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act it is against the law to own only four breeds of dog.

These are the Pit Bull Terrier, the Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Braziliero.

There have been calls for more breeds to be put on the banned list and for the law to be toughened up after a number of high profile dog mauling cases.