Four-year-old mauled to death by pet dog in UK

London: A four-year-old girl has died in the UK after being attacked by her family's pet dog, the second such death this month, media reports said on Wednesday.

Alice Stones was attacked in her back garden on Tuesday by a dog that her family is reported to have bought six weeks ago in Buckinghamshire's Milton Keynes, The Sun newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Police arrived shortly after the attack, but the girl was pronounced dead at the scene.

The police evacuated the neighbours, in fear of the dog escaping, before gunning it down in the house.

"In order to ensure public safety, a decision was made earlier this evening to destroy the dog involved, and this has been done humanely," Superintendent Matt Bullivant of Thames Valley Police said.

"I would like to reassure people that there is no reason to believe there is any danger to the wider public," he was quoted as saying in the report.

“They (the family) had the dog about six weeks, might be longer, maybe six to eight weeks,” the report quoted a neighbour as saying.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his condolences to the family during Prime Minister's Questions and thanked the emergency services for responding "rapidly and professionally".

Neighbour Rita Matthews said she would see the girl while walking her own daughter to school.

"I know the girl. It's so sad to hear that news," she was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Stone's grandfather, who paid tribute to her on Wednesday, said, “We’re just trying to come to terms with what has happened. It’s horrendous.” On January 12, Natasha Johnston, a dog walker, died on the scene after being attacked while walking a group of dogs at a popular spot in Surrey, while another woman was rushed to the hospital with dog bites, the BBC reported.

An inquiry heard that Johnston, 28, died from "multiple penetrating dog bites to the neck", the report said.

Johnston, who was not licensed to walk dogs in the area she was attacked in, had, according to the coroner, Simon Wickens, suffered "traumatic injuries".

Police had seized eight dogs at the scene.