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A 44-year-old woman was fatally mauled by two "massive" and "muscly" dogs as horrified neighbours tried to fight off the pets with tools and bricks.

Neighbours said they rushed out to help her after they heard screaming and shouting coming from a home in Widnes, Cheshire, where the woman was attacked.

The woman has been named locally as mum-of-three Elayne Stanley, who regularly posted photos of her two dogs - a female called Billy and a male called DJ - on social media.

Carl Rees, 28, said another man was in the kitchen trying to distract the dogs - which he described as "massive" - and he used tools and hurled bricks in a desperate attempt to fight them off.

A woman who lives nearby said the dogs were "muscly" and similar in appearance to mastiffs, the Liverpool Echo reports, while others described them as "American bulldog type" animals.

Have you been affected by the incident? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk.

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

DJ "had the taste of blood" and had to be shot dead by police, while the other dog, Billy, was tranquilised and seized, said neighbour and longtime friend Bev Hall.

Ms Hall said she ran into the bloody scene in her bare feet as Ms Stanley - who had three daughters, including twins - was attacked after an argument with one of her daughters.

The mum-of-three, who lives opposite Ms Stanley with her partner Jay, told the Sun: “We were here putting the tea on and the next thing her daughter Louise came running in screaming for help saying ‘the dogs are attacking mum’."

Ms Hall, 39, said Ms Stanley was behind the closed living room door and she could hear a dog "growling and scratching".

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

The neighbour said she and her partner threw items and banged on windows to try to distract the animals.

Ms Hall, who has known the victim for 22 years, told how her partner Jay and other neighbours hurled bricks at the dogs from a side door.

The dogs were corralled into the back garden and Ms Hall's partner locked them out.

Ms Hall said: “By the time the paramedics came there was nothing they could do, she had bled out."

Neighbours were left shaken following the attack which happened at about 5.15pm on Tuesday, describing the harrowing scene and paying tribute to "lovely" and "beautiful" Ms Stanley.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Paramedics treated Ms Stanley - who had a 22-year-old daughter and twins aged around 13 - inside the house but she died at the scene despite efforts to save her.

An air ambulance was called and landed nearby.

There have been no arrests at this stage as police continue to investigate.

Police did not reveal the breed of the dogs.

A Cheshire Police spokesman said: "At around 5.15pm on Tuesday 24 September police received reports that a 44-year-old woman had been attacked by two dogs at an address on Graham Road in Widnes.

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

"Officers attended the property and discovered that the woman was in a serious condition.

"Sadly, despite the best efforts of all those involved, the woman died at the scene.

"Her next of kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.

"Following the attack, repeated attempts were made by officers to safely secure the two dogs in order to remove them from the address.

"One was safely detained, however officers were unable to secure the second dog.

(Image: Facebook)

"Attempts were made to tranquilise the second dog but this was unsuccessful so, in the interests of public safety, the dog was destroyed. The other dog remains in a secure kennel."

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.”

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Including the Widnes incident, at least three people have died after being attacked by dogs in the UK this year.

In June, Sharon Jennings, 55, died of sepsis after she was bitten by a dog while defending her own pet from an attack in Preston, Lancashire.

She was bitten on the hand and neck by a dog, believed to be called Psycho, and died in hospital days later after she was found unwell at her home.

Nine-year-old Frankie MacRitchie died when he was mauled by a bulldog-cross, called Winston, in a caravan at a holiday park in Looe, Cornwall in April.

In December last year, two-month-old baby Reuben McNulty died in hospital almost a month after suffering horrific injuries when he was attacked by two Staffordshire bull terriers at his family's home in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire.