A dog had to be put to sleep after being attacked by a man "with a Samurai sword", leaving his owners heartbroken.

Dave, an English bull terrier, was left with a severed spine, a severed back leg and had his stomach torn open in the incident.

The 10-year-old rescue dog had got into the man’s house in Castlemaine Avenue, Gillingham after getting out of his back garden.

Owner Vicki Oram said: “My daughter, Jayde, had just come home from work and she was in the garden with the two dogs playing with them, she came inside but left the dogs out in the garden.

“The next thing she heard was screaming and our dog’s name being shouted. She couldn’t see Dave in our garden and she went running around but they wouldn’t let her in.

“Dave had got under our fence, their door must have been open and he ran inside their house.”

She added: “Jayde said when she got in there she called him and he recognised she was there, but he was lying in a pool of blood. When Dave left there he was barely alive, there was nothing the vet could do for him.”

She said the man had used an ornamental Samurai sword in the attack, which happened on Wednesday afternoon.

The 46-year-old said there had been an incident four years ago where Dave had attacked another dog but said since then they had had an agreement that the dogs were not outside at the same time.

Mrs Oram said her 19-year-old daughter has been advised to have counselling by the police and the vet.

The family, who foster dogs for the Absolute Bull Terrier Trust, have had Dave since 2012.

Mrs Oram said: “The same year my father-in-law Dave died, the trust called to ask if we would foster a dog called Dave, it was just a sign. He was so lovely and so soppy we ended up keeping him.

“He was the most lovable, sloppy dog, he loved people. We were supposed to look after him but we couldn’t save him. We’re heartbroken, devastated.”

The family also adopted Lily, now four, when she was a puppy. Lily was born deaf and Mrs Oram said Dave was Lily’s ears and she is now lost without him.

Katya Mira, from the RSPCA, said: “This is a shocking incident and we are very distressed to hear about the death of this dog. One of our inspectors has called the owner to offer our condolences.

“At this stage the police are leading the investigation into what happened, but we have given them animal welfare advice and are offering any support they may need from us.”

A police spokesman said officers were called to a property in Castlemaine Avenue, Gillingham at 5.30pm on Wednesday to reports a dog had been injured by a person in a house.

A 29-year-old man from Gillingham was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and released on bail until March 26.