Shock new figures reveal the scale of attacks by savage dogs on adults and children in Cumbria.

They show a massive rise in the number of incidents reported in the county with nearly four times as many people being injured than three years ago.

Figures show Allerdale was the worst area of Cumbria with 71 incidents. In Copeland there were 43 attacks

Earlier this year Stephen Hodgson, 45, was killed by his pet dog, a Staffordshire-cross pit bull, at the family home in Cleator Moor.

The figures have been branded "horrendous" by a dog expert who is stunned at the increase.

Figures show that Cumbria police has had 310 reports of dogs attacking people since 2013.

Offences of this nature are increasing rapidly. From only 40 reports across the county in 2013/14, the figure rose to 150 in the last year.

Carlisle had 68 incidents across the last three years.

In South Lakeland there was 56, Barrow had 54, Copeland 43 and Eden 18.

Sergeant Mark Yielder, who is in charge of Cumbria Police's dog section, put the rise in reported attacks down to an increase in reporting and changes to legislation.

He said: "I don't think that there's more dog attacks than there was years ago but people are more willing to report it.

"As soon as someone reports to the police a dog bite it is dealt with as a matter of urgency as they can be dangerous.

"We need to know things like if the potentially dangerous dog has a history of biting people. We do take it very seriously."

Sgt Yielder urged people to report any type of incident involving a dog attack, even if it's a nip, so trained police officers and experts can intervene and stop the problem happening again in the future.

He also offered some tips on avoiding dog bites happening at all.

He said: "The big one is to always have your dog on a lead.

"Dogs make their own minds up and when they see another dog they might go and check it out and that's when you get a coming together. If it's not on a lead then you're not in proper control.

"If you've got a member of the public that has a dog that comes up to you just stand still, don't interact because you don't want the dog to perceive you as a threat. Wait for the owner to come across.

"If no one is with the dog, don't make eye contact and slowly walk away from it."