A mother who says her cat was killed by a “vicious” dog has told of her heartbreak after her young children watched the attack unfold.

Caroline Jones, her husband Steve and her children, 11 year-old Layton and nine year-old Zanti, found their cat Samos partially buried in a neighbour’s garden on Monday morning.

Mrs Jones told News Shopper she was woken up by her son shouting for his parents at 4.30am on Monday. Layton and his sister, Zanti, had been sleeping in the front room of the house.

According to Mrs Jones, Layton claimed to have heard a cat screaming outside, which woke him up.

"He said it was the loudest scream he had ever heard," she said.

After calling for his parents, Layton told them: “Samos is in a dog’s mouth.”

After jumping out of bed, Mrs Jones said she ran downstairs with her husband to find the dog. After searching outside, the family saw their cat.

“I couldn’t see anything physically at first, until eventually, right in the corner of our neighbour’s garden, I saw fresh earth, which the dog had buried Samos in.

“All I could see was her little white legs sticking out. As I got towards her, she lifted her little paw up as if to say, 'help' and she was gasping for breath.”

Mrs Jones then dug her cat out of the earth and carried her inside.

“We put her on the floor and tried to wake her, but her gums had turned white, and she had gone."

After the horrifying ordeal, Mrs Jones said she wants to warn other people in Thamesmead about dangerous dogs in the area, as she believes the dog that attacked Samos was “roaming around unattended.”

She added the incident was particularly devastating for the family as their other cat, Hira, was found dead in a garden just a week before.

“If you’ve got a dog that harms other people, don’t let it out on its own without a lead and a muzzle,” she said.

She also called on neighbours and pet owners to “look out for each other.

“There are a lot of people in Thamesmead concerned for their pets.”

After reporting the incident to police, Mrs Jones told News Shopper she hopes the dog's owner will be brought to justice.

She added: “Samos was the kindest, prettiest cat and she would never have hurt anybody."