A PET dog was left needing 40 stitches in its neck after it was attacked by two other dogs while out on a walk.

Linda Clarke, 60, was walking along Honeysuckle Road in Southampton when her Jack Russell Lulu was viciously attacked by what were believed to have been two Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

Mrs Clarke, of Pansy Road, has reported the incident to police.

She said: “Before I had a chance to do anything this massive dog jumped out and landed on Lulu. It had my little dog in its mouth and was joined by a second dog. They started tossing her around like a rag doll.

“It seemed to go on forever and was like something out of a horror film.

“I love my dog - she’s like a child to me. I wanted to help her but if I’d picked her up the other two dogs would have had my arm off.”

As Mrs Clarke stood screaming for assistance a passing motorist jumped out of her car and bravely beat the dogs off with a plastic bottle.

Mrs Clarke said: “I saw all the blood and thought Lulu was dead. She was cold and unresponsive in my arms.

“She was taken to the vets at about 10am but they couldn’t operate for several hours because she was in shock.

“She suffered eight different wounds, including a hole in her ear, and needed at least 40 stitches.”

Mrs Clarke, of Pansy Road, claimed the terriers had been involved in at least two previous incidents.

Now staff at McColls newsagents in nearby Burgess Road are signing a petition calling for the dogs to be destroyed amid fears their next victim could be a child.

Jackie Hodder, who works in the shop, said: “They should have been put down after the first incident - we can’t understand why they weren’t.”

One of her colleagues said people were living in fear, especially couples with children.

He added: “The whole community wants these dogs to be put down. There are a lot of angry people around here.”

Mrs Clarke, who was left with a bill for £550, added: “No-one knows how Lulu got through this.

“I don’t know whether I’m ever going to get over it. I can’t sleep - every time I close my eyes I see the attack all over again.”

A police spokesman said officers had recorded the allegation but any investigation would be carried out by the city council’s dog warden.