A group of neighbours rescued a dog walker after she was set upon by two Staffordshire bull terriers in a frenzied attack.
The attack on the 51-year-old woman and her labrador is understood to have been so vicious that she will need plastic surgery.
The victim was walking down a cul-de-sac in the village of Dudley, North Tyneside, when the two dogs rushed over and began biting her Labrador.
Hearing her screams, at least five neighbours – all women – came out of their homes to help and were left covered in blood afterwards.
A woman walking her labrador was hurt after being attacked by two Staffordshire bull terriers, pictured
She was rescued after five neighbours ran to the scene and managed to fight the dogs off
Neighbour Kayleigh Campbell, 30, left and right, was decorating her house for Christmas when she heard screams and ran to intervene
Many had been putting up Christmas decorations when they heard the chilling screams.
Kayleigh Campbell, 30, was putting festive lights in her window when she saw the dogs make a beeline for the dog walker and her pet.
She said the road was splattered with blood as the pair attacked.
Miss Campbell, who has two Spaniels of her own, can be clearly seen in horrifying video footage of the incident running to help.
The admin assistant said: ‘The poor lady was just walking past with her Labrador. I was putting Christmas decorations in the window and I saw her.
‘She was walking past and I saw the two dogs run and then it all went crazy.
‘I ran straight out. The brown one was latched onto the labrador’s neck and they were trying to tear the labrador to bits.
‘The woman was fighting off the dogs. She was screaming and shouting for help and hitting them.
‘It took chunks out of her hands and her arms. She will potentially need skin grafts.
‘I had my hands in the dog’s mouth. I was prising its mouth open with my hands.
CCTV footage from a nearby house caught the moment the woman was walking through the North Tyneside cul-de-sac
As she crossed the road the Staffordshire terriers approached and started biting the labrador
Neighbours were alerted by the victim’s screams and then ran to help her, pictured
‘The adrenaline just took over – I didn’t care what it was, I just wanted to get it off the dog but it wasn’t giving up.
‘A lot of other people had come over. We got the labrador away, but the brindle one kept coming back.
‘In the end I pinned it down and held its legs to the floor. I lost my grip twice because they didn’t have any collars on but I got it in a headlock.
‘Lots of neighbours came out when they heard the noise.’
Another neighbour was also putting up his Christmas tree when he heard the commotion.
It was almost over when he arrived on the scene.
He said: ‘We had the Christmas music on and my wife turned it down because she said I had it too loud and then we heard screaming from outside.
‘The Staffies were ripping at the Labrador and the woman as she tried to fight them off. It was horrible to watch.
More neighbours were then alerted to the scuffle and managed to prize the dogs away, with some left covered in blood
One lady pulled one of the dogs away by the hind legs while also trying to unhook its jaw with her hands
‘One lady was pulling the brown Staffie by its hind legs and putting her fingers on its nose to try and unlock its jaw.
‘They managed to get the dogs off and got into a woman’s house and when we went in it looked like a murder scene. Quite a few of the neighbours were bleeding.
‘The dogs will get put down. You can’t let dogs like that live after that.
‘If that had been a child or a baby, it would have killed them. There are children that play on that street every single night.’
The dogs have been taken to police kennels and their female owner spoken to following the attack at 1pm on Saturday.
It is understood she also owned a third dog, a Japanese Akita.
A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: ‘Police are appealing for witnesses following a dog attack in North Tyneside.
Police confirmed the incident took place and that the two terriers were taken to police kennels after they had been secured in a nearby garden
Officers are appealing for witnesses and say they have spoken to the owner of the dogs
‘A 51-year-old woman was walking her black Labrador dog when two other dogs, believed to be Staffordshire Bull Terriers, approached her dog and attacked it biting the Labrador around the neck.
‘The dog’s owner and two other women aged 47 and 51 came to her aid to get the offending dogs off the Labrador and were themselves bitten on the hand and arm.
‘They managed to secure the terriers in a garden and called police.
‘The women attended hospital and received treatment for their injuries and the Labrador was taken to the vets for treatment.
‘The offending dogs have been taken to secure police kennels.
‘The owner of the terriers has been spoken to and inquiries are continuing.
‘Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 561 of 02/12/17.’