A woman in her 40s has died after she was savaged by a dog in a sustained attack at her home.
Armed police were called at 9pm last night to the semi-detached house in Wallington, South London where they found Barbara Williams critically injured.
The dog - a Belgian mastiff - was shot dead by officers but paramedics and a air ambulance doctor sent by car were unable to save the victim and she died at the house.
Belgian mastiffs can weigh up to 110lb and are so strong they were bred to pull carts (file photo)
At least one other person was in the house during the attack and neighbours said today that three people - a man and two women - lived there.
Detectives said a puppy was removed from the house in the aftermath of the incident but its breed is not yet known.
Harshal Kshatri, 25, who owns a Western Union shop around the corner from the victim's semi-detached home, said: 'We saw her only yesterday. She came in and bought some stuff.
Investigation: A policewoman stands guard outside the house in Wallington, South London, where the woman died
'She would send money home to Jamaica, top up her Oyster card, buy groceries and play the Lottery, just general stuff. She was very friendly; very jovial and very nice.'
It is thought Ms Williams lived in the property with an older female relative, the woman's son and grandson.
Mr Kshatri added: 'They were all going to be at home for Christmas. I think she bought Christmas cards from us yesterday. You don't expect this. I thought the dog was quite friendly. It was never aggressive from what I remember.
'I don't think she ever used to walk it but a guy at the house did. He would tie it outside to a bench when he came in.'
Mr Kshatri's mother, Falguni Kshatri, 47, said: 'Barbara was a regular customer, she shopped at ours for more than five years. She was a very nice person, always smiling and talking. I never saw her miserable. She was a very good lady.
'I never saw the dog but heard it from around the corner, it had a very heavy voice.'
Shot dead: Armed officers destroyed the dog at this house in Wallington, South London
One neighbour who asked not to be named told Sky News the family kept the pet in the garden and that it rarely barked.
Another neighbours paid tribute to a "very friendly, jovial, very nice woman".
A Met Police spokesman said that paramedics arrived to find the Ms Williams 'suffering from multiple dog attack injuries.'
A London Ambulance spokesman said: 'We were called at 8.55pm to Demesne Road, Wallington, to an incident.
'We sent an ambulance crew, a single responder in a car and an air ambulance doctor in a car.
'Sadly the victim, a woman in her 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene by the air ambulance doctor.'
A post mortem examination was expected to take place later today and a inquest will be opened and adjourned in due course.
Belgian mastiffs were originally bred to pull carts and can weigh up to 110lb.
Despite growing to a height of 32 inches, they are not classified as dangerous under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The law refers to four kinds of dog which are banned - pit bull terriers, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Braziliero.
There have been numerous recent cases of savage dog attacks.
A four-year-old girl was scarred for life in October after being attacked by a Japanese akita dog in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire.
In April, 18-month-old Zumer Ahmed died after she was mauled by a cross-breed animal at the family home in Crawley, West Sussex.
And in February last year three-and-a-half-month-old Jadin Joseph Mech was mauled to death by two family dogs at the home of his grandmother, in Ystrad Mynach, south Wales.
The dogs - a Staffordshire bull terrier and a Jack Russell - were destroyed.
