Dundee woman held after dogs maul girl

• A rottweiler (left) like the attackers

Rhianna Kidd suffered a fractured jaw and multiple bite wounds to her face, arms and legs when she was mauled by the two dogs without warning as she cycled to her grandmother's house in Dundee.

A 33-year-old woman was arrested and charged in connection with the attack, while the dogs may be put down.

The attack has reopened the debate on dangerous dogs, with a new law passed by the Scottish Parliament earlier this year being implemented by local authorities. The legislation focuses on punishing owners rather than banning certain breeds.

Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: "The bill reforms the law around dangerous or out-of-control dogs, and gives local authorities greater powers."

Yesterday Rhianna's grandmother told how she ran in her nightclothes to save the girl's life as she lay bleeding in the middle of the street.

Irene Grady raced to her granddaughter's rescue on Sunday morning, when she saw Rhianna being set upon by the two dogs from her upstairs bedroom window Mrs Grady shielded her badly injured grandchild, shepherding her to the safety of her home as the two snarling rottweilers threatened to renew their attack.

Mrs Grady said they had cowered in her home as the dogs ran amok outside until paramedics and police arrived.

She declared: "They could so easily have killed her."

Mrs Grady said: "I was absolutely petrified. These are big powerful dogs. They are like fighting machines. It was terrifying. It was just surreal."

The attack began shortly after Rhianna's father, Neil, had walked with her to the end of Dryburgh Street from his home in Lansdowne Court so she could pay her regular visit to her grandmother. Mrs Grady said she watched from the window as her granddaughter cycled the short way down the street.

She said: "Rhianna was on a grassy stretch at the side of the road when - out of nowhere - these two big dogs surrounded her bike. She started to try and pedal, and one of these two big brutes jumped up and hauled her off the bike.

"As soon as that happened I ran down the stairs. By the time I got to the door Rhianna was lying in the middle of the street with the rotweillers around her. I started shouting, trying to scare the dogs off. Rhianna managed to stand up as I was running, and then she went down again."

She continued: "When I got there the dogs began barking but they backed off. Rhianna was covered in blood and her clothes were in tatters. She was screaming ‘granny, my leg, my leg.' I told her darling, we are not going to run - we are going to walk and try and calm these dogs down."

As she helped Rhianna to safety, one of the dogs continued to stalk them, snarling. The other dog then turned on one of Mrs Grady's other grandchildren, Sheridan, 16, who had also arrived for a visit.

Mrs Grady said: "I shouted to her to get in the house and she got to the door only seconds before the dog got there."

She said she was horrified by the extent of Rhianna's injuries. "She had a big slash down the right-hand side of her face, a bite mark under her chin and bite marks all down her arms. They had taken chunks out of her leg, and her jaw was broken in two places. They could so easily have killed her."

Tayside Police said that a 33-year-old woman had been charged in connection with the attack.