Mother-of-three dies after being mauled by her own two dogs

A 44-year-old woman has died after being mauled by two dogs.

The mother-of-three, named locally as Elayne Stanley, was attacked in her house in Graham Road, Widnes, on Tuesday evening.

The mother-of-three, named locally as Elayne Stanley, was attacked in her house in Graham Road, Widnes, on Tuesday evening.

Neighbours reported hearing screams from inside Ms Stanley's house at the time of the attack before police arrived at the scene.

Cheshire Police officers attended the house at 5.15pm after being called by the ambulance service to find Ms Stanley in a serious condition.

She was treated at the scene by paramedics but could not be saved.

The woman is understood to have owned the two dogs that attacked her.

Ms Stanley's next of kin have been contacted by police and investigations are continuing. No arrests have been made.

Following the attack, police officers tried to safely secure the two dogs to remove them from the house.

One of the animals was safely removed from the property, but the second dog could not be succesfully tranquilised and was destroyed in the interests of public safety, police said.

Cheshire Police have not confirmed the breed of either dog.

BBC News reported that one resident tried to stop the dogs from attacking Ms Stanley by throwing bricks at them, while another and attempted to resuscitate her before paramedics arrived.

According to the Liverpool Echo, one of Ms Stanley's daughters was stood outside the house when the attack happened, while another neighbour heard a man shouting from inside the house that he couldn't get to the mother.

Neighbour Dorothy Woodward told the newspaper Ms Stanley as a lovely woman, and said: "She was a beautiful person and very friendly."

Detective Inspector Ian Whiley said: “We understand that people in the local community will be concerned when they hear about what has happened.

“But I would like to reassure residents that we are doing all that we can to establish the full circumstances of the incident.

“However, at this stage, it is believed that the dogs were known to the woman and were living at the address.

“This has been an extremely distressing incident and our thoughts are with the woman’s family at this difficult time.”

A neighbour said that screams could be heard from the house, as well as the voice of someone calling for towels, BBC News reported.

Another resident reportedly tried to get the dogs off Ms Stanley and attempted to resuscitate her before paramedics came to the scene.