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This is the first picture of a mum fatally mauled by her two powerful "American bulldog type" dogs which reportedly turned on her as she rowed with her daughter.

The 44-year-old, named locally as mum-of-three Elayne Stanley, was killed by the "massive" and "muscly" pets - a female called Billy and a male named DJ - inside her home in Widnes, Cheshire.

Neighbours rushed into the terraced house and desperately tried to save the Ms Stanley - hurling bricks at the animals to fight them off - after hearing harrowing screams, but they say she "didnt stand a chance".

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.

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

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

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".

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.

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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."

Police confirmed Ms Stanley died at the scene despite efforts to save her.

Friend Ms Hall added: “The police tried to tranquillise DJ three or four times but he wouldn’t calm down, he had the taste of blood so he went for the police officers and they had to put him down."

She said DJ was shot twice and Billy was tranquilised and taken away.

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

Another neighbour, who saw Billy being walked out of the house when police attended, said: "It seemed quite excitable... excited to see people."

Ms Hall said Ms Stanley had had the dogs for two or three years and claimed they belonged to her partner Paul.

Witnesses told how they heard a girl screaming "DJ" and a shout of "I can't get to her" from inside the house before someone kicked the door in and neighbours rushed to help.

There were screams to "get towels" before the emergency services arrived and neighbours heard the sound of gunshots.

Neighbour Carl Rees, 28, said he heard screams and found a man in the kitchen trying to distract the dogs, which he described as "massive" and possibly mastiffs.

Mr Rees told the Liverpool Echo he used tools and threw bricks in a desperate attempt to fight them off.

(Image: Facebook)

A woman who lives nearby said the dogs were "muscly" and similar in appearance to mastiffs. Another neighbour described them as "American bulldog type dogs".

Locals were left shaken following the attack which happened at about 5.15pm on Tuesday.

Marie Airey said: “I never used to hear the dogs barking. It’s so sad. Elayne was only little and thin. She must have been eight stone. With two big dogs she didn’t stand a chance.”

Ms Hall said she was not aware of the dogs being violent in the past and they have allowed her children to play with them and sleep on them as "pillows".

They would bark when people went into the house or passed by, she added.

A neighbour told the Echo: "I heard it all kick off. The screams were terrible. I heard someone shout, 'get towels, get an ambulance'.

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

"All hell broke loose. Those poor kids. I've got a 10-year-old daughter who has stroked the female dog, Billy."

Paramedics treated Ms Stanley 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.

Neighbour Dorothy Woodward described Ms Stanley as "lovely", adding: "She was a beautiful person and very friendly."

(Image: Mercury Press & Media)

Ms Stanley had three daughters - Louise, 22, and twin aged around 13, neighbours said as heartbroken friends left flowers at a metal fence in front of the home.

The animal lover regularly posted photos of her two dogs on Facebook.

Under one photo of the dogs standing side by side and looking into the camera, a relative wrote: "It wasn’t us mum honest. It might of been the terrible twins."

Other photos show the dogs napping inside the house or playing in a garden.

Residents said the dogs were not banned breeds and they were not aware of any problems in the past.

“People would stroke them,” Savannah Hayes, 22, said.

(Image: Facebook)

The terraced house was cordoned off by police on Tuesday and officers remained on scene on Wednesday.

A Dogs Trust sticker in a window at the home read: “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.”

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.

"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.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

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

"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.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

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

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.