A WITNESS has described mastiffs "going berserk" and tearing one of their pack apart in the back garden of a suburban house.

The man saw some of the fight between the bull mastiff crosses kept at a house in Worthing that left one dead and two seriously injured.

The RSPCA has taken the nine dogs into its care following the incident that unfolded from about 10.30am on Monday morning in Winchester Road.

The witness told The Argus yesterday: "I was going past and the dogs were going beserk, so I went and looked over the wall.

"There must have been nine or ten mastiffs and six or seven of them were just going for this one and it was screeching and yelping.

"I could not do anything - I thought of trying to turn a hose on them, but I called police.

"I think the first one was already dead by the time police arrived, and then the dogs turned on a second one.

"I was looking to see if it was breathing and it was not, and the other one had clambered into a door to get away from them.

"There are several puppies there but they are about six months old so they are almost fully grown - they are huge.

"So to look in that garden and see nearly ten of them running around was unbelievable.

"When I looked over the wall and saw all these dogs, I was amazed. It was horrible.

"To get 10 or 11 in that garden is a bit of a squeeze - it's just a pack and they all jump in.

"It's surprising so many can be kept like that."

In general, animal welfare laws focus on whether animals' needs are met rather than the numbers kept, experts say.

An RSPCA spokesman said: "We are continuing to advise and assist with the welfare of the dogs as much as we can but as this is an ongoing matter cannot comment further.”

The witness said police officers and RSPCA went over the wall into the dogs' area dressed in riot gear, one holding a fire extinguisher, before taking the dogs out.

A 70-year-old man was arrested on Monday on suspicion of being a responsible person failing to prevent the causing of unnecessary suffering to an animal.

He has been bailed to July 31, Sussex Police said yesterday.