Crazed dog mauls five police officers

London, March 23 (IANS) Five policemen were mauled by a dog in Britain as they hunted a suspected violent kidnapper, Daily Mail reported.

The officers were said to have "life-changing" wounds as serious as those seen after a shootout. The attack took place on a residential street in Stratford, east London.

One officer had his arm broken between the animal's jaws, while others had chunks of flesh torn from their legs and arms. Some will require plastic surgery, and one could lose several fingers, the newspaper said Wednesday.

Neighbours revealed they had reported the animal, described as a brown dobermann/pitbull cross called Poison, to the local authorities several times.