Dog mauls London woman to death and injures another in Surrey

Officers were called to Gravelly Hill, Caterham, when the animal attacked members of the public at around 2.45pm on Thursday.

The victim, who police believe was a 28-year-old woman from London, was pronounced dead at the scene. Formal identification is yet to take place but her next of kin have been informed, the force said.

A second woman was taken to hospital with dog bites but has since been discharged.

Armed officers attended with support from the National Police Air Service and seized eight dogs in total.

Inspector Lyndsey Whatley, borough commander for Tandridge, said on Friday: “This is a tragic incident where a young woman has sadly lost her life and our thoughts are with her family and friends.

“I know that yesterday’s events will be of real concern to the local community and I would like to reassure residents that we are confident all the dogs involved are in the custody of police whilst we investigate the circumstances of what has happened.

“Officers will remain in the area of Gravelly Hill today whilst enquiries continue and if you have any information but have not yet spoken to police then please contact us.”

Surrey Police said none of the seized dogs had been put down.

A large area of countryside and roads around the scene were blocked by police cars on Friday morning as the investigation continued.

East Surrey MP Claire Coutinho said: “My thoughts are with the loved ones of the lady who has died following a dog attack in Caterham. Another lady was injured but is thankfully recovering in hospital.

“Thank you to the paramedics for their efforts at the scene, and officers from Surrey Police who controlled the situation so quickly.”

A resident near the scene told MailOnline: “The area is in the middle of the countryside surrounded by big detached houses.

“All the roads nearby and surrounding roads are closed. There are police cars with flashing lights blocking the roads. It is quite a dog walking spot round here but no one seems to know exactly what happened.”

Chief Inspector Alan Sproston said: “Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who sadly died. This incident will be concerning to the local community and I would like to reassure them that we believe all dogs have been accounted for and are in police custody.

“Our investigation to establish the circumstances of the incident remains ongoing and we would ask the community not to speculate.”