A BURNLEY woman who was subjected to a terrifying attack by four dogs last year said police should do more to combat dangerous breeds.

Joy Hird spoke out after hearing about the tragic death of Blackburn baby Ava-Jayne Marie Corless, who was mauled by a banned Pit Bull Terrier type dog on Monday night.

Joy, 60, was attacked by four dogs, said to be pit-bull and bull mastiff type breeds, in August last year as she walked her Bichon Frise dog, called Marley, near Burnley General Hospital.

She said: “What happened to that poor baby was just terrible. I have no doubt that Ava-Jayne was a very loved baby, you can see that from the photos of her.

“I’m sure that her mother didn’t realise the danger she was putting her daughter in. But people should not have dogs of that nature in their homes, and especially not when they have a baby or young children around.

“These attacks are becoming more and more common and the police just don’t do enough to combat the problem. People just should not be able to keep these types of dangerous dogs.”

She said no one was ever prosecuted for the attack on her and Marley, and the four dogs were allowed to return home.

She added: “When I was attacked it took them an hour to respond to the call and send their team of specially trained officers to the scene. The dogs had me on the ground, but because I wasn’t ‘mauled’ the police didn’t prosecute anybody for the attack.

“These are clearly dangerous dogs, they weren’t provoked by me or Marley – he’s a small timid dog. Imagine if that had been a child instead of me.”