Tetley the terrier is the toast of the house after saving little Archie Windridge-France from a savage dog attack.

The toddler, who had recently undergone heart surgery, was in his pushchair being walked home by his mum when a Staffordshire Bull Terrier ran at him growling.

The dog, about three times bigger than Tetley, was so strong the pram toppled over with Archie strapped in it.

But then Tetley started to fight back and stood his ground, repeatedly going back to the pram and defending it.

Despite being gripped in the Staffordshire's mouth, he stayed at Archie's side until people passing by finally shooed the attacking dog away.

Archie's mum, Sarah-Jayne Windridge-France, originally from Baildon, now lives in Horsforth where the incident happened.

She said: "He's a little dog but he thinks he's big. He put up a great fight and kept going back to the pushchair.

"You hear about children being mauled and I was screaming out. I was mortified.

"He had just had delicate heart surgery and I went into shock."

She said Tetley, who is a Patterdale terrier, was covered in saliva and his fur was matted and roughed up from where the dog's mouth went round his head.

"He was 'out of sorts' for a while but he was soon back to his best," added Sarah-Jayne. "It was as if he knew Archie couldn't defend himself.

"Now if I leave the room I tell him to keep an eye on Archie and he gets closer to him.

"I am convinced he is watching over him."

Last month Tetley - named because he drank a pint of the beer when Archie's dad fell asleep - was voted in the top five in a Coolest Canine national competition run by K9 magazine to find true hero dogs.

The family got him when he was about one year old after he was found roaming and apparently lost near a skip for two days. A relative spotted him and when efforts to trace the owners failed he went to the Windridge-Frances who were looking for a pet.

Sarah-Jayne, who is 19 weeks pregnant with her second child, said thanks to Tetley's bravery the Staffordshire had soon "got the message" and ran off. She hasn't seen it since.

She added: "Tetley can hold his own as he proved on this occasion, but the rest of the time he is a lovely, caring dog and we love him very much."