The attack happened at 1pm on Thursday in Cinder Ash Park when a golden Labrador bounded over to Mary Downey's toy Bichon Frise Kizzey.

Mrs Downey, of Tydd Gote, said: "The dog came running over from the other side of the park.

"I threw myself over my dog to try to get between them but the Labrador had such a tight hold.

"It broke Kizzey's jaw, ripped out an eye and punctured her neck on both sides.

"It just shook her around like she was a ragdoll."

The other animal was under the supervision of children, who reported the incident to their parents when they returned home.

Lincolnshire Police confirmed that the Labrador owner had contacted them after their children had returned from the park with the dog and told them what had happened.

The owner had asked for their details to be passed to Long Sutton Veterinary Surgery, where Kizzey was treated, and to Mrs Downey to discuss settling vet bills.

But despite rushing the dog to the vet, Kizzey could not be saved.

Mrs Downey said: "My dog was so severely injured that she needed to go to Cambridge for major surgery.

"Her breathing was laboured and she was crying out in pain.

"We were going to take her to Cambridge but she clearly wasn't going to survive the journey so we made the decision to put her to sleep."

Head nurse Anna Pomeroy, of Long Sutton Veterinary Surgery, said it was unusual for a Labrador to attack another dog.

She said: "It was quite a shock to see the dog when it came in.

"It sounded like an extremely vicious attack and it was badly injured."

A Lincolnshire Police spokesman said an offence of a dog not being under proper control was being investigated.