"IT will be a child next time." That was the anguished cry from a mother whose children had just witnessed their pet cat being mauled to death by three dogs.

Susan Lockyer said the cat, Socks, the pet of her three-year-old son Ross, was sitting on her kitchen windowsill when the three dogs - a Rottweiler and two bull mastiffs - on one extending lead jumped up and attacked the cat.

The owner, who has a nearby flat, allegedly stood there and watched.

"When the dogs attacked, the bloke just stood there laughing," claimed Miss Lockyer.

"The dogs are not muzzled and it will be a kid next time, and they will kill the kid."

The frightening attack happened outside Miss Lockyer's Dinham Court home at Ashley, New Milton, at about 5pm on Wednesday.

All three of her children - Ross, two-year-old Christopher and Angel, 10 - watched horrified as their cat was savaged to death.

Ross told the Daily Echo he was very upset and his sister was in tears.

Miss Lockyer alleged that one of the dogs "went for Christopher last year and pinned him against the wall".

Neighbour Jacki Oliver said: "I'm just really concerned that nothing is being done at all. It worries me when there are children here. You can see the dogs barking at the window.

"They shouldn't have dogs like that when there are children around. If they could do that to a cat they could do it to a child. I think the council should be involved because it's their property."

A New Forest District Council spokesman said: "The council has been made aware of an alleged incident involving the dogs and a cat on the evening of October 17, and it is being investigated.

"There are likely to be discussions between the council and the RSPCA."

A police spokesman said officers were called at 5.40pm. "Initially it was passed to the RSPCA but they don't deal with it and it's actually being investigated as a dangerous dogs and criminal damage investigation.

"It's been passed to the Safer Neighbourhood Team at New Milton. They were starting their investigation on Thursday afternoon."