A brother and sister who were savaged by a Doberman dog are recovering well in hospital.

The children were badly injured near their home in Ascot, Berkshire, on Tuesday when they tried to stop the dog attacking their pet Scottish Terrier.

India Chauhan, 10, had part of her arm ripped away in the attack and her brother, Declan, eight, was bitten on his arms and legs.

An Italian couple that kept the Doberman as a guard dog were said to be devastated by what had happened and had the dog put down.

They both had surgery last night and are now settled and quite comfortable

Hospital spokeswoman

It was feared India might have had to have her arm amputated, but surgeons saved the limb, even though it was bitten through under the elbow.

The children were transferred to a specialist unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in West London.

A hospital spokeswoman said: "They both had surgery last night and are now settled and quite comfortable."

The injuries to the children could have been even worse had a woman passerby not intervened - beating the dog off with her umbrella.

RSPCA help

"I didn't have time to be scared of the dog at the time - these people needed help, and their need was greater than mine," said the woman from Chobham in Surrey, who did not want to be named.

A spokeswoman for the RSPCA, which had the dog destroyed, said: "We don't usually get involved in these sort of situations as dangerous dogs are the police's area, but we were called in to help by them.

"We always say that any dog can suddenly turn, there is no particular type of species that is more dangerous and it can be for any reason."