THE dog which savaged a six-year-old girl and bit four other people last week was due to be put down last night.

As the Shuttle/Times and News went to press, a police spokeswoman said the owner of the Japanese Akita, which hit the headlines after rampaging through Cobham Street and Gamson Close, last Tuesday, had voluntarily agreed for it to be put down.

She added a file on the case had been passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service and it was up to the service whether charges were pressed against the owner.

Jack Ormerod, whose daughter, Chelsea, had wounds on her head treated following the attack, said he was "very relieved" to hear that the Akita was being put down.

"We love dogs - we have two of our own - but there are some dogs that you just can't handle and the best thing to do with them is to have them put down," he said.