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Killer Staffies 'tore the throat out of a disabled spaniel' in a bloodbath dog attack in front of traumatised children.

Shocked youngsters leaving a nursery school looked on in horror as an elderly Papillon toy spaniel was killed on a suburban street.

The dog, which had only one eye and three legs, had been taken out of a pushchair by its owner when two staffies dashed out of a block of flats and savaged it in Musselburgh , Edinburgh, on Friday afternoon.

A witness, speaking on condition of anonymity, told how the spaniel's middle aged owner screamed as the attack unfolded.

The neighbour, aged 48, said: "I've never heard anybody scream like that.

"It was horrible, just horrible. We thought her dog had been hit by a car, the injuries were so bad.

"The dog was like her family. She treated it like royalty, like her baby."

Traffic was brought to a standstill as the horrific attack unfolded leaving the elderly spaniel dead within a matter of minutes.

The witness said: "Neighbours came out too and cars stopped.

"The two staffies that did it are normally on a lead so we think the owner was visiting someone in the block of flats and they got out somehow. The woman owner of the Papillon takes her out of the buggy so she can go to the toilet before they go home and that's when it must've happened.

"She never stood a chance. She was only a little thing. She couldn't even see properly. They'd ripped her throat and stomach out and were eating it."

A nursery manager is understood to have ran into the street, Balcarres Road, in a bid to shield the children's eyes from the sickening attack and aftermath.

The witness added: "They saw it all.

"The woman from the nursery actually ran out and had to take the children across the road another way.

"The kids were upset, obviously - they could hear the screaming."

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: "We received a report of a dog being killed in the Paddock area of Musselburgh around 4.20pm on Friday, December6 2019.

"Enquiries were carried out and it was established this wasn't a criminal matter .

"The incident has been referred to the local authority dog warden."