A HUSBAND-and-wife election team say they have been forced to scale back their campaign after being bitten by dogs in two separate attacks.

Green Party candidates Linda and Iain Maclennan, pictured right, are both standing in the local elections in the Eastleigh borough.

But they have decided to cut their leafleting because they were both mauled by two different dogs.

Mrs Maclennan, who is standing in the Netley and Hamble ward, needed surgery after a dog bit her hand as she pushed one of her husband’s leaflets through a letterbox in Bursledon.

The 47-year-old, from Hamble Lane, Bursledon, spent two days in hospital after the attack.

She said: “I was screaming and I could feel that it was doing real damage.

“I was terrified I would lose one of my fingers.

“When I finally managed to pull my hand free I ran away.”

Her husband Dr Maclennan, 54, who is standing in the Bursledon ward, was also attacked by another dog days earlier.

He says he has resorted to putting leaflets through doors with salad tongs to avoid being bitten.

He added: “Dog owners have a duty of care to ensure the safety of postal staff and leafleters who deliver to their addresses.”