An 11th-hour campaign has been launched to save police dog Bruce from death row after he bit off part of a teenager's ear.

The German shepherd was due to be destroyed this afternoon after biting the 14-year-old while officers were breaking up a brawl.

But friends and neighbours of dog handler PC Pete Tattum and his family are pleading for a stay of execution.

One woman said: "Bruce was only doing his job. They could retire him - surely they don't have to kill him."

Their pleas have so far been rejected.

Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Yeo said the decision was regrettable.

But he said: "At the end of the day, a police dog is not trained to do what it did.

"A police dog is not a pet, it is a piece of equipment. If we had a car that did not work or had faulty brakes then we would get rid of it.

"We have to be as bloody-minded as that for the sake of public safety."

Bruce, who is five, was put into kennels immediately after the attack to be assessed.

A force spokeswoman said: "The dog was checked by a nationally-accredited police dog training instructor and did not pass.

"Therefore, regrettably, due to public safety, which must be paramount, the dog will be humanely euthanised by a veterinary surgeon."

She said police dogs which fail cannot be rehomed.

If it bit again, Sussex Police could be liable for legal action because it had been trained by the force.

It costs £6,000 to train a police dog and it is worth £35,000 during its working life of eight years.

Dozens of friends and children gathered with banners near PC Tattum's home in Seaford last night to press home their Save Bruce campaign.

Neighbour Sylvia Hedges said PC Tattum had offered to leave the police dog unit so he could keep Bruce.

She said: "He's prepared to sacrifice his career for the life of his dog.

"He's being allowed to see Bruce to say goodbye before they kill him.

"Pete's ten-year-old daughter had to leave their home on Monday when the news was broken. They knew she would be upset.

"She and Pete's wife were in floods of tears when they heard.

"Pete's 13-year-old son phoned the police dog manager and pleaded with him to save Bruce."

Mrs Hedges, an intensive care nurse, said: "The whole community here is outraged at what we think is an unfair and cruel decision.

"I am not a dog lover but I am happy to be near Bruce with my two children. Bruce has visited schools and has never been a problem.

"When police officers make errors they are disciplined but it seems dogs who make mistakes pay with their lives."

Wendy Walker, supervisor of Chyngton Methodist Church playgroup in Seaford, said: "Bruce was wonderful and gentle when he visited children here.

"They were able to touch him and he was well behaved. The children all loved him. What they are doing to him is disgusting."

Sarah Jackson, another Seaford neighbour, said: "The boy Bruce bit was told to stand still but chose to run.

"Bruce was only doing what he was trained to do and it is costing him his life."

The teenage boy was injured in the early hours of Saturday when a fight broke out between a crowd of 20, some armed with bottles and knives, in Morley Street, Brighton.

Police said the teenager was one of two people pursued.

They were ordered to stop by a dog handler, who followed them to an unlit part of the street.

Surgeons later reattached the boy's right-earlobe and he was in satisfactory condition in hospital. Police were waiting to question him.

Stacey McSpirit, who runs the Paws Animal Sanctuary in Findon, was outraged at the decision to put Bruce down.

She said: "I can't understand it. The dog was only doing its job.

"It was probably going for the arm as trained to do and missed and caught the ear."

She added: "Mike Tyson bit someone's ear off and they didn't put him down."

Bruce bit a police officer in 1999 but the PC forgave him.

Steve Curry, now a sergeant, was grabbed by the thigh, leaving him with a puncture wound.

He was one of three people bitten as officers followed two car thieves seen in a stolen car.

The vehicle crashed into another car in Freshfield Way, Brighton, injuring a woman passenger who chased the two thieves.

Bruce was giving chase and the woman came into the dog's line of sight and was bitten on her wrist, causing a minor injury.

Mr Curry, who was also bitten, said at the time: "I was in plain clothes and running. I should have stopped. Bruce mistook me for a suspect and was doing his job.

"I'm certainly not cross with him. Both dogs and their handlers were brilliant."

One suspect was bitten twice in the leg after trying to kick Bruce's colleague, Ben, another German shepherd.

The suspect was arrested but his accomplice escaped.

One officer said: "It may be a shame Bruce has to die but he is only a force resource. The boy will be scarred for life."

This morning, Lewes Lib Dem MP Norman Baker added his voice to calls for a reprieve for Bruce.

He said: "It seems drastic bearing in mind the dog was only carrying out orders."

Brighton Kemptown Labour MP Des Turner said he would also be calling force headquarters.

David Rogers, chairman of Sussex Police Authority, said: "Public safety must come first.

"I have spoken to the Assistant Chief Constable and asked him to explore fully every other option other than to put the dog down. Ultimately, it must be his decision."

The Sussex Police call handling centre has received a number of calls from members of the public complaining and urging the force to save the dog.