Pitbull kills granny, 74

A WITNESS has described how an enraged pitbull terrier bit an elderly woman in the face before pulling her to the ground and savaging her to death.

Grace Page, 74, died in the horrific attack at her home in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, yesterday afternoon.

Timothy Jacobs, 17, said he saw Page’s eyes being ripped from their sockets by the dog — reportedly owned by her sons.

Jacobs said he wanted to jump over the fence to help Page, but his father stopped him — fearing that the dog might attack him too.

Within five minutes Page’s face was “gone”, Jacobs told The Times. “I heard her screaming: ‘Help me, help me’.”

Jacobs said he and other neighbours threw stones at the dog and even tried to pour boiling water on it, but it did not let up.

Timothy’s father, Errol Jacobs, said Page died with her arms around the dog as she fought it during the attack. He said it took the police a long time to arrive and kill the dog.

Another witness, Nicolene Campbell, said she believed the dog saw Page handing peaches to children passing by, and that this might have angered the animal.

Police spokesman Captain Phillemon Khorombi said an inquest docket had been opened.