A brave animal lover put her hand in the mouth of a Staffordshire bull terrier to try to save a neighbour’s cat from its jaws.

Bob the cat was attacked on Friday afternoon in Church Street, Dagenham.

The dog was off the lead.

Six people rushed save the cat’s life before neighbour Christine Brown put her hand in the dog’s mouth to save the cat from being killed.

The dog dropped the cat and, severely injured, it hid under a nearby car. Christine and a disabled man rescued it.

The cat was taken to The Ark Veterinary Centre in Goodmayes, where it received life-saving surgery.

It is now slowly recovering from its ordeal.

The cat’s owner, Dorothy Miles, 88, said: “Church Street is a lovely place to live, with great neighbours and a real village feel.

“These people, who don’t even live here, try to spoil it.

“If it wasn’t for my neighbour Christine, the cat would be dead. She was so brave to put her hand in the dog’s mouth.”

Mrs Miles, whose other cat Fluffy had to be put to sleep two days before the incident, said: “It’s a disgrace the way people who don’t even live in this street just let their dogs run wild.

“The dogs run into the road and cause mayhem.

“I’m worried that one of the babies in the nursery will get hurt one day.”

Her daughter Eileen Miles is looking for the whereabouts of the dog’s owner, who she describes as a dark-haired woman in her mid 30s, to contribute towards the vet’s bill and also to discuss how she intends to control her dog in the future.

She told the Post that they had be warned by the vets that Bob’s recovery would be slow but expected him home in the next few days.