Dexter Neal, who died in hospital after being bitten by a dog at a property in Halstead, Essex (Image: Police/PA Wire

A woman has been charged over the death of a three-year-old boy who was attacked by a dog in Essex.

Jade Dunne, 29, has been charged with owning a dog dangerously out of control that resulted in the death of three-year-old Dexter Neal, Essex Police said.

Dexter died after he was bitten at Dunne's home in Halstead, Essex, in August 2016.

The dog, an American Bulldog named Ruby, was seized by officers and later destroyed.

Dunne, of Parker Way, Halstead, has been released on bail to appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court on March 27.

Dexter was attacked on the afternoon of August 18 last year.

Neighbours described hearing "terrible screams" as a man tried to save the toddler inside the house and the boy's mother distraught in the front garden.

Dexter's uncle Ashley Coe wrote on Facebook in the aftermath of the attack: "I can't even begin to describe what state we are all in this is an absolutely devastating loss for my sister and her husband and there's nothing I can say to them."

PA Media