Image caption Inquiries are at an "early stage", said police

A four-year-old girl has died in hospital after being bitten by a dog.

Officers were called to a flat in Rowena Court in Mountsorrel, Leicestershire, at about 12:15 GMT to reports of a dog attack on a child.

Lexi Branson was taken to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham where she later died.

The dog, believed to be a family pet, died shortly afterwards, but details of how it died have not been released by police.

In a statement, Leicestershire Police said they did not believe the dog "was of a breed listed under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act".

Inquiries are at an early stage and the force declined to give further details.

Neighbours' shock

Arthur Nash, a neighbour of the family on Rowena Court, said: "Everybody is in shock at the moment with her dying.

"When I saw an ambulance pull up I thought it was an old lady on the court who had had a heart attack and then the neighbour came up and said [the girl] had been killed by the dog."

Gloria Longmire , a secretary at Mountsorrel Methodist Church, who walks her dogs in nearby Cross Lane, added: "I would say we do have a strong community here and people will be absolutely horrified and it's dreadful that it's a family pet."

Police officers remain at the scene and the flat has been cordoned off.