Woman bailed after 'Asbo' the dog goes on rampage » Communities » 24dash.com

A woman arrested after her pet dog attacked four people including a baby has been bailed pending further inquiries, police said today.

The 29-year-old from Mitcham, south London, was questioned at a south London police station after the rampage by the dog, reportedly called Asbo.

Witnesses hailed a bus driver as a hero after he rescued the baby from the jaws of the animal.

A group of men rushed to help the boy and tried to drive the bull terrier-type dog away by hitting it with a fire extinguisher from the bus and sticks.

The bus driver was himself attacked by the dog after he stepped in to help.

Police said the baby, who is aged around a year, was in a stable condition last night.

Two other people were also injured in quick succession during the incident.

None of the victims' injuries was life-threatening, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Police later caught and shot the animal.

Jackie Haggis, a 38-year-old foster carer from Tavistock Crescent, Mitcham, saw the attack from her house, which was only 15 yards away.

She said: "I saw the dog with a baby in its mouth. It dragged the baby about 60 yards across the green.

"I seriously panicked and called 999 straight away. The men were trying to hit the dog with a fire extinguisher from a bus and with sticks but it wouldn't let go.

"Eventually a man came onto the green in a pickup truck and tried to run the dog over but it didn't succeed.

"Instead the dog turned on another man and to escape he jumped in the back of the pickup truck.

"The dog went berserk and started chasing the man in the truck down the road.

"It was going absolutely wild."

She added: "If the bus driver hadn't come to the baby's rescue, it would have certainly been killed. It was absolutely petrifying."

The Met Police said officers were called to South Lodge Avenue, in Mitcham, at 11.21am after reports of a dog biting a child on the leg.

The bus driver was attacked two minutes later and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

At 11.30am, a 50-year-old woman was bitten by the dog, and shortly afterwards a fourth person was rushed to hospital with facial injuries after being attacked, the police said.

Police said the dog's owner was bailed to a date in mid-November.