A mum whose family pet rabbit was killed by a loose dog in her garden has lodged an official complaint against police who refused to prosecute.

Vicki Gill claims she was wrongly told it was a civil case and not a police matter by the officer who responded to her 999 call and handed her £100 cash from the sorry owner instead.

The family, who live in Station Road, Queensbury, caught the horrific attack on special breed bunny Blossom on CCTV. The footage clearly shows two bull terrier-type dogs getting in through the garden gate and relentlessly lunging at the hutch until one of them gets in and mauls the rabbit to death.

Mrs Gill, who has three young children, said: “I should never have accepted the money, but the officer asked me how he could make it better and asked how much Blossom was worth. I took the money but told him I still wanted the owner to be prosecuted.

“He said it was a civil case, advised us that a dog control order may be imposed on the owner, but nothing more. That’s not good enough, I’ve lodged an official complaint.”

According to Mrs Gill, she has reported the same dogs, who live in a nearby street, to police on the non-emergency number on more than one occasion for being off their leads and out of control and believes other residents have had similar experiences.

She said: “I am disgusted that no serious action has been taken against these dogs and their owner. The police officer said it was only a rabbit, but it was my children’s rabbit. Those dogs were on the loose and were in my garden – my children could have been there.

“These dogs are seriously out of control and dangerous, but I really believe it will take a child to be attacked before the police take it seriously.”

Terry Singh, RSPCA Bradford & District General Manager, told the Telegraph & Argus that the police would have had the powers to prosecute under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and the fact it was a small animal killed should make no difference.

“Rabbit or not, it’s an offence to allow your dog to act dangerously in a public place, but there is also a separate charge in the Act which can be brought against an owner, or person in charge, if the incident occurs in a non-public place, where the dog is not permitted to be – in this case Mrs Gill’s garden.”

He added: “Things start with these dogs attacking small animals. They get the taste of blood, which could lead to them turning on the public. If claims are being made about these dogs being dangerous, police should be investigating them thoroughly.”

A police spokesman said it was a civil matter, but added: “A complaint has been received and is being investigated.”