ROTTWEILERS should not be banned in the wake of a spate of savage dog attacks by the breed, say experts.

Experienced dog handlers from across Worcestershire are strongly against banning more breeds following reports in Sunday's News of the World that a nine-year boy was savaged by three rottweilers in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.

Jordon Gillon thought he was going to be eaten alive after suffering 14 puncture wounds and a deep cut under his right eye that needed seven stitches.

A five-month old girl died in Leicester in September following an attack by two rottweilers and there have been calls in some national newspapers for Animal Welfare Minister Ben Bradshaw to ban the breed.

But Dave Shaw, who specialises in rehoming rottweiler and German shepherds in Worcester, said outlawing more breeds would only give the dogs more street credibility among irresponsible owners.

The Government is now considering prosecuting owners whose dogs attack people in their homes and extending the range of banned breeds beyond the four outlawed under the Dangerous Dogs Act - pit bull terriers, Japanese tosas, dogo Argentinos and fila Brasileiros.

Mr Shaw, who has 20 years of experience handling the breed, said: "If rottweilers are banned the status symbol will be elevated and the dogs are in a worse position. They will have more street cred with the undesirable dog owners. I do not at all agree with it.

All of it is making life more difficult for dog wardens. The responsible owners are penalised because of the irresponsible. The Government needs to be more specific - there shouldn't be grey areas like the phrase pit bull characteristics'. We have thousands of of cross breeds that have those characteristics because they look like one. That's a bit onerous."

Mr Shaw now has three German shepherds and three rottweilers waiting to be rehomed at the kennels, based at his Worcester home, as more people dump their dogs in the wake of dog attacks like the one which killed five-year old Ellie Lawrenson on New Year's Day.

Mr Shaw, of Dave Shaw Dog Training Services, says the volume of calls he has received has quadrupled since the story appeared and the kennels are now operating at three times their normal capacity as owners panic. Mr Shaw has two rottweilers as pets, six-year-old Mac and 18-month-old Digby, both rescue dogs, and says he has had no problems whatsoever' with either.

Martin Gillies, manager of environmental health at Worcester City Council, said no fundamental change in the law was needed.

He added: "There is an over-arching question about whether the Dangerous Dogs Act is effective and whether or not sanctions should be placed on breeds or whether there should be more strict control of ownership.

"There is no such thing as a dangerous breed. There exist responsible owners and irresponsible owners. An irresponsible owner is quite capable of training a chihuahua to be a raging beast, if it's mistreated. The problem is where do you draw the line? If you add rottweilers to the list you may as well add Staffordshire bull terriers and English bull terriers. It will go on and on."

Meanwhile, Pip Singleton, a dog warden with Wychavon District Council, said kennels received four Staffordshire bull terrier type dogs in the last week - Monday, January 15 to Friday, January 19 - as confusion continues.

Staffordshire bull terriers, rottweilers and German shepherds have never been banned under the act.