AN 84-year-old man is terrified about going out after his miniature Yorkshire terrier was mauled to death by a Staffordshire Terrier.

Stanley Kay had 'his soulmate' Little Stanley for eight years and the pair were ‘inseparable’.

But tragedy struck when he was walking along Livesey Branch Road in Blackburn on November 27 at 1.30pm and he was met by the owner of the Staffordshire bull terrier.

Heartbroken Stanley said: “I had just stopped to talk to the lady.

“I would speak to anyone but there was another dog running around the road and it started barking.

“The terrier became aggressive and then attacked Little Stanley and crushed his skull and he died instantly.”

Daughter Tracey Kay has been amazed by the reaction in the community to the news with more than 400 comments on the Feniscowles and Cherry Tree community Facebook page.

She fears for the other dog owners in the area.

She said: “It was horrific, my dad does not want to go out again and was petrified.

“We have been told by the police that the dog owner has been given a muzzle and some people have seen it not wearing it. I am worried as we have heard that it has attacked other dogs in the area in the past.

“We are struggling to come to terms with it.

“This dog is dangerous as it has attacked other dogs and something has to be done.

“It just seems nobody wants to know about it.

“There was a community gathering recently and it was brought up there.

“It is so tragic – why should an 84-year-old man have to deal with that? The shock could have killed him.

“They have never been apart for so long and he was his little soulmate.

“My dad had just stopped to talk to the lady as he does. He used to talk to dog owners when he was out and he did not have any concerns when he saw the woman and the dog.

“This dog has had repeated attacks in the past and we are terrified it will do it again or even hurt a person.”

PC Nav Hussain said: “I have been dealing with the case relating to a sad case where a dog had been reported to have been attacked resulting in its death.

“We have been working with Blackburn with Darwen Council to rectify the issue and are looking for a results to ease the community tensions that exist.”