Residents on a Bradford street have branded the city's dog warden service "a disgrace" for failing to pick up a stray they claim has bitten ten children.

The labrador has been in Kite Mews, off Bell Dean Road, Lower Grange, for the last week, attracted by a bitch on heat.

Resident Pauline Holt said it had attacked her children Sean, ten, Michael, seven, and five-year-old Chelsie on three separate occasions.

She added: "It has bitten at least ten children altogether in the last week but the warden service is doing nothing.

"They came up once and said they couldn't remove it because it was in someone's garden and then just went away.

"A lot of people have phoned them - I would say six or seven people have phoned about a dozen times in all.

"It's a disgrace they are not doing anything about it. My children are terrified now. They won't go out."

She has reported the alleged incident to police.

Last month, Councillor Jim O'Neill, chairman of the Council's housing and environment protection committee, said he had ordered "an area by area blitz" to tackle the problem of stray dogs.

And today he stressed this action would go ahead.

He said: "Areas will be tackled ward by ward, so it will take some time before the task is completed - but it will be done."

The alleged incident is the latest in a series of dog attacks across the city this year.

On May 12, the Telegraph & Argus reported how six-year-old Allan Sproat needed 19 stitches in his hand, arm and shoulder after being mauled by a Bull Mastiff in Girlington.

Ten-year-old Jolene Lamont needed more than 30 stitches when she was bitten by a German Shepherd-Japanese Akito cross breed in March.

And four months ago, Emma Duce, 12, of Baildon, was bitten by a border collie outside her home.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.