Dogs should be issued with Asbos if they are a danger to the public, MPs said today as they condemned current laws as “woefully inadequate”.

Tough ‘control notices’ – already introduced in Scotland and looming in Wales – would force dog-owners to take action, or face huge fines.

The crackdown might require a dog to be muzzled, to be kept on a lead in public, to be kept away from particular places or people – or force the owner to undergo training. Widely seen as a canine version of the ‘Asbo’, the notices would be handed out by dog control wardens – which local authorities would be forced to have.

Six years ago, the Telegraph & Argus petitioned the government as part of our Curb The Danger Dogs campaign after six-year-old Rukhsana Khan, from Manningham, was left with horrific injuries after being mauled.

Her plight led to the introduction of the Dangerous Dogs Act.