BOURNEMOUTH council did not pass on residents’ complaints about two Staffordshire bull terriers before they launched a “horrific” attack on a 10-year-old boy, a meeting heard.

The news came at a public meeting on Wednesday when anxious residents quizzed police about the attack in Grants Close in Springbourne.

The boy was related to the owner of the dogs and suffered bites to his legs, chest, face and ears and needed major surgery at Salisbury Hospital. The attack took place in August.

Several residents including neighbour Doreen Anderson, who fought off the dogs with an umbrella, told the meeting they warned the council about the dogs over several years.

A dog legislation police officer, and a community sergeant, said they had not been told about any complaints.

Cllr Anne Filer told the meeting: “As a result of the horrific happenings in Grant’s Close, the procedures for reporting complaints have been much tightened up. Officers can’t keep it to themselves.

“They have got to pass it on to the police now.”

Dog legislation officer PC Colin Spender said officers were powerless to make any prosecutions because the attack initially started on private property, making it a civil matter.

“The law is an ass,” he said. “But if it happens on private premises, there’s nothing we can do. Our hands are tied.”

The dog’s owner, a woman, asked for the animals to be destroyed. The Echo reported in August they were six-year-old Missie and four-year-old Kahn.

PC Spender said if the owner had not given permission, the police would have needed to go to the civil courts up to three times – to get possession of the dogs, for a warrant if the owner refused to hand them over and for a destruction order.

Doreen Anderson, who had written complaints about the dogs, received a round of applause for her actions on the day. One resident said: “She saved that child’s life.”

Mrs Anderson said: “All I remember was this young boy being dragged out of the flat. The dog just went berserk.”

PC Spender said the 10-year-old boy and an uncle were at the property to exercise the dogs while the owner was away. The male dog attacked first then its mother joined in, he said.

The Dog Control Bill is currently going through parliament and will replace existing legislation. It would make it an offence to keep a dog that has attacked a person.

Matt King, Technical Services, Environmental Health, said after the meeting: “We treat all reports of dog attacks in Bournemouth extremely seriously.

“It is vital that we have a robust system in place in order to share information between council departments and our colleagues in the police. “We will continue to ensure that officers from the housing team and the police communicate with us to help us carry out our investigations as thoroughly as possible.”