A TEENAGE girl suffered horrific injuries after she and a friend were savaged by a vicious dog.

The large Alsatian only released its grip on screaming Lisa Smithies when her aunt slammed the front door against it.

The 14 year old suffered nine bites to her legs, hips and lower back in a frenzied attack in Melrose Avenue, Burnley.

Rebecca Smalley, 14, of Kinross Street, was also bitten but her injuries were not as serious.

Lisa's mum, Deborah Cariou, of Dalton Street, Burnley, today demanded that the dog be put down.

She said: "Had it attacked younger children it could have killed them." Lisa, a pupil at Mansfield High School, Brierfield, was visiting her aunt's home in Melrose Avenue at about 8.20pm last night when the dog attacked.

She said: "I had called for my cousin but she was not there. I was just walking down the street when this big dog suddenly started attacking me.

"I was terrified. I was shouting and screaming for help but it would not let go. I dragged it back to my aunt's and it only released its grip when she slammed the door against it." Lisa said she was in agony and that the dog had bitten a big hole in her left calf as well as other bites on her legs and lower back.

She received treatment last night at Burnley General Hospital and was told to return there today for a further assessment of the wounds. She said: "I only found out later that my friend Rebecca Smalley was bitten by the same dog a few minutes earlier."

Strangely, both friends, were bitten by a Rottweiler, also on Melrose Avenue in separate incidents about 18 months ago.

Deborah said: "There is a problem with dogs roaming the streets down there."

Lisa's aunt, Sharon Smithies, said: "Lisa came to my house bleeding heavily from wounds to her legs. She was in a right mess."

The dog was chased off with sticks by two friends Andrew Stuttard and Peter Butterfield.

PC Martin Melvin said the dog and the owner had been identified at an address in the local area.

He said: "The girl suffered some nasty bite wounds. I spoke to the dog's owner last night and told him we would be applying for a destruction order for the dog."