A WOMAN who needed plastic surgery after being savaged by a dog is furious after council chiefs refused to take the owner to court.

Susan Lewis, 51, was mauled earlier this year by what she believed was a pit bull terrier in a communal garden outside her home at Harold Hick Court, Tadcaster.

She needed a two-and-a- half hour operation on the gaping four-inch wound in her leg after the attack, which she said happened after she went to the rescue of her own dog, Blue, an elderly golden retriever who she says was being attacked by the pit bull.

She and her partner, Gary Power, complained to police, who contacted Selby District Council's dog warden service.

The couple expected the pit bull's owner to be prosecuted, but they have now received a letter from the council's head of legal and democratic services, James Felton, saying that it had decided not to take any action.

Mr Felton said relevant witnesses had been interviewed and statements taken from Susan, the dog's owner and the person responsible for the animal during the incident.

He had considered the statements taken very carefully to decide whether or not there should be a prosecution of the dog's owner, and found there were a number of "inconsistencies" between the statements.

These included which dog caused the injuries, the time at which Susan sought medical assistance and the nature of any injuries sustained.

He said in view of the "serious discrepancies" and the lack of independent witnesses, the council could not commence a prosecution and realistically hope to secure a conviction - even though he was satisfied a prosecution would have been in the public interest.

He stressed the decision did not mean the council did not take the complaint seriously, and nor did it prejudice any civil action she might wish to take.

But Susan said today: "I'm disgusted by this decision. If it was a case of their word against mine, they should have taken it to court and let the magistrates decide."

She said while her wounds were healing remarkably well, she remained traumatised by her experiences and nervous when she saw a stranger's dog.

Her partner, himself a former dog handler for a park service in West Yorkshire, said he was astonished by the decision.

He said a child could have been seriously injured or killed had it been attacked by the dog instead of Susan, and he feared one could now be at risk in future.

He said he was now consulting a solicitor about whether he could take civil action against the pit bull's owner.

Selby District Council declined to comment any further on the decision.