Dog attack nurse 'saw her hand on the ground' in Wisbech

Sue Scarlett thanks the crew of the East Anglian Air Ambulance for saving her life

A care home nurse who lost half an arm in a dog attack said she "knew she was in big trouble" as she fought it off.

Sue Scarlett, 64, from Wisbech, was helping a friend clean out kennels last October when the 90kg (14st) rescue dog grabbed her arm and "held on tighter".

She credits the fast actions of an air ambulance crew with saving her life, as first reported in the Eastern Daily Press.

"I saw my hand lying on the concrete in a pool of blood," she said.

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Mrs Scarlett said she had let the dog out and was putting fresh water in its bowl when it sank its teeth into her arm on 2 October.

She had pushed the kennel gate against him, adding: "I knew that if he got into the kennel he would kill me.

"I remember thinking that I would have a few broken bones when he finished.

"After what seemed hours my husband heard me and tried to pull the dog away but was unable to do so.

"I looked down and saw my right hand lying on the concrete in a pool of blood.

"As a nurse I knew that I was in big trouble."

'Swift action'

Mrs Scarlett was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge by an East Anglian Air Ambulance helicopter.

She underwent emergency surgery, but had to have her right arm amputated just below the elbow.

"I might have lost part of my arm, but I am alive," she said.

"What I know, without a shadow of a doubt, is that without the swift action and interventions of the crew I would not be here today."

The breed and age of the dog have not been revealed.