The mum of a girl attacked by a dog has urged people in Bradford to back the Tele-graph & Argus Curb the Danger Dogs campaign.

Suriya Khan, whose daughter Rukhsana was mauled to the point of death by a crazed dog 15 years ago, said the law needs to be changed to help prevent further attacks by dogs.

Mrs Khan, of Frizinghall, said: "I remember the attack like it was yesterday. I thought I was going to lose her.

"I didn't recognise her when she was lying in the hospital bed after the attack. Her face and body were covered in bite marks."

Mrs Khan said she hoped people in Bradford would rem-ember the images of her daughter lying in a hospital bed after the attack and feel compelled to sign the T&A's petition calling on the Government to tighten up the Dangerous Dogs Act.

"Those images shocked the nation and what happened to my daughter when she was six changed the law," she said. "If everybody in Bradford backs this campaign we can help to get the law changed again. We have to show the Government that we are serious about the issue."

The T&A is now calling on Home Secretary John Reid to make the following changes to the Act: l Introduce a compulsory registration scheme for all dogs l Introduce compulsory micro-chipping for all dogs l Anyone convicted of owning a dangerous dog should have a lifetime ban from ownership l Introduce fixed-penalty tickets for owners who allow their dogs to stray.

Mrs Khan said the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 had not gone far enough to stop the problem.

"Although it was established with the best of intentions it was rushed through as a knee-jerk reaction to what happened to Rukhsana."

You can support the T&A's campaign by signing our petition either online at www. thetelegraphandargus.co.uk or by printing out a copy or by visiting one of the T&A's offices in Hall Ings, Bradford, Keighley News, North Street, Keighley, the Craven Herald, High Street, Skipton and the Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale Observer, Wells Road, Ilkley.

e-mail: jennifer.sugden @bradford.newsquest.co.uk

HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be submitted to the Home Secre-tary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the dis-trict about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pressure on him to better protect the public against dog at-tacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publication's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feel-ing regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, Oc-tober 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

  • Click here to sign the petition on-line

  • Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out