A crazed "dog from hell" which savaged a toddler to death will be destroyed.

Police said the vicious American bulldog, called Game, which mauled 18-month-old Zumer Ahmed in front of her family, was not a banned breed.

A workman fended off the dog during the attack at the family's home in in Cotton Walk, Broadfield, Crawley, but she could not survive her horrific facial injuries.

Zumer's uncle, Urfan Ahmed, 32, who owns the dog and lived with the family, was held in custody overnight on suspicion of manslaughter and bailed until July 15.

A friend of the family described Mr Ahmed's two large dogs as "beasts".

He said: "They were the dogs from hell. They were very dangerous and aggressive and a tragedy like this was just waiting to happen.

"I have two young children and I would not let them play anywhere near the dogs because I was worried about what they were capable of."

Zumer was in the kitchen with her mother Saira, her grandmother and her three-year-old sister, when the dog ran into the house from the garden and grabbed her face on Saturday lunchtime. Workmen in a neighbouring house ran to help when they heard Saira's screams and fought to free the toddler from the dog's jaws.

Saqib Nazir, 32, said: "It was awful like a scene from a nightmare.

"My colleague, Artur, dragged the baby away from the dog. I fended it off with a tea towel.

"It was looking me in the eye and kept growling.

"I held the baby in my arms for 15 minutes. She was still breathing.

"It was truly the most awful thing I have seen in my life."

Neighbour Adrian Walker, 35, told how the girl's father, Nazir, screamed, "the dog had my girl, the dog had my girl", as medics tried to save his daughter's life.