A great-grandmother has called for dangerous dog laws to be changed after police could do nothing when her Yorkshire Terrier was killed in her back garden.

Lorraine Harling was told there was nothing police could do as two-and-a-half-year-old Marley was killed by another dog on private property.

Under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 an owner can only be prosecuted if their dog harms a human, or is out of control in a public place.

But the 59-year-old, who lives in Wessex Road, Didcot, said: “It is not really the police’s fault, it is the law.

“Because it is not a public area it means anything can come into your garden and until it kills you, rips your arm off, or kills your grandchild there is nothing you can do.

“And until that happens the police’s hands are tied.”

She added: “They need to change the law so people and to pets can be safe in their own gardens.

“I was totally stunned that I would have to wait for a child to be mauled before something can be done.”

The grandmother-of-18 said the dog grabbed Marley by his face and shook him in the attack earlier this month.

She said: “I feel angry and hurt.”

Her carer Tony, 45, hit the dog with a spade during the attack but it would not release its grip on Marley.

He said: “It was quite traumatic.

“All you could see was Marley swinging around like a rag doll.

“The worst thing about it was you see it and you cannot do anything about it.”

He agreed the law needed to be changed, adding: “You cannot protect your property from a vicious animal.”

Miss Harling said she suffered a heart attack last year after a dog tried to get in to the garden while she was feeding her four rabbits with her seven-year-old granddaughter.

Albert Honey, a former animal welfare officer for Thames Valley Police for 19 years, said: “There are quite a number of dangerous dogs around and nothing is being done about it.

“One of these days a child is going to get killed and then maybe people will sit up and look.”

He said victims could take the owner of a vicious dog to court to seek compensation.

Thames Valley Police spokesman Adam Fisher said: “Officers met the owners of the deceased dog and explained that there is no existing legislation that covers incidents of this nature, and that as such there is no action police could take.”