HORRIFIED neighbours told how ear-piecing screams rang out as a pensioner had her "limbs ripped off" by an out-of-control dog.
The Japanese Akita was reported to police just hours earlier over concerns around the troublesome hound's "behaviour" at a home in Wolverhampton.
The victim - who has not been named but is a woman in her early 70s - was hospitalised with catastrophic injuries, including partial amputations.
Police have arrested a man, 40, on suspicion of being in charge of a dog “dangerously out of control”.
A neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: "My mother in law heard some screams coming from the house and shouting and then the emergency services were outside.
"The lady lives there with her son. They were both at home when it happened. The dog only came into their possession the day before the incident.
"I heard the dog barking outside at night. It had been left outside in the rain. Someone else said they’d seen the son getting it to fight a broom handle.’
The victim’s daughter said: "My mum is in hospital and we are traumatised by what has happened."
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She was left with catastrophic injuries including partial amputations, it is understood.
Emergency services raced to the three-bed semi in Grosvenor Road shortly before 2pm yesterday.
The woman was rushed to hospital by ambulance as police destroyed the animal at the scene.
A friend said: "She was in a bad way. There was blood everywhere.
“It was touch and go whether she would survive.
"There was blood everywhere"
"It’s just an absolute tragedy."
The friend claimed the same dog had previously attacked a resident on the street.
They added: “The dog lives with her and her son. You often saw it being walked down the street.
“I believe there had been issues in the past and the police had been involved.”
Police confirmed neighbours rang police to report the dog the night before the attack.
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We received a call to Grosvenor Road, Wolverhampton shortly before 10pm on Wednesday 29 September, following concerns from neighbours around the behaviour of a dog.
"We were in the process of arranging for neighbourhood officers to visit the property around these concerns."
The dog – which is not a banned breed – was “humanely” destroyed, cops said.
The force spokesman added: “A man has been arrested after a woman suffered serious dog bites in Grosvenor Road, Wolverhampton shortly before 2pm yesterday (30 September).
“A woman, believed to be aged late 60s or early 70s, was taken to hospital and treated for injuries which are described as life changing.
“The dog, which we understand lives in the property with the victim and is believed to be a Japanese Akita, was humanely destroyed at the scene.
“A 40-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control. He remains in police custody today.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 1.43pm yesterday to reports of a person that had been bitten by a dog on Grosvenor Road, Ettingshall Park, Wolverhampton.
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"One ambulance, a paramedic officer and a West Midlands CARE team doctor attended the scene.
"On arrival, we found one patient, a woman, with potentially serious injuries, she received treatment on scene and was conveyed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment."
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