A HEARTBROKEN gran says armed police ruined her family Christmas because they seized her dog after a fatal attack.

Now 'animal mad' Carole Roberts fears the police may be hanging onto Dylan because she compared them to the 'Gestapo', the Nazi secret police, during the Worcester raid.

The pensioner admits she screamed and shouted at officers and ripped up their warrant, telling them: "You're nothing but the Gestapo, all you police coming to fetch a little dog."

Mrs Roberts, who says she remains suicidal, cancelled Christmas because she still has not got her beloved Dylan back nearly three weeks of waiting by the phone. He was seized by a team of 12 police officers from her home in Guildford Close, Ronkswood on December 11.

Now she feels she is being ignored, saying her phone calls have not been retuned by the officer dealing with the case.

The 72-year-old also disputes claims by West Mercia Police that they had not had any co-operation from her because she had failed to attend a meeting to resolve matters.

Dylan was seized on December 11 under the Dangerous Dogs Act because the Staffordshire Bull Terrier is suspected of being involved in a fatal attack on another dog in August. The officers were armed with Tasers and riot shields.

The great grandmother says one of the reasons she cannot clear Dylan's name is because her husband is too ill to go to the station to give evidence and police will not come to the family home to conduct the interview instead.

Mrs Roberts disputes that her Dylan was involved in any attack, claiming he is gentle and does not even match the description of the dog given on the warrant which she tore up in front of officers.

The family has now released a fresh photo of Dylan which they say proves that he is brown and white with a small build, not the 'muscular' black dog with a 'large body' and a 'huge head' that police described on the shredded form.

On a previous occasion she was told by an officer that Dylan was not eating after being placed in kennels by police despite being given the best food.

However, she says she has received no update on his progress for eight days and is becoming increasingly worried about him, complaining of suffering debilitating panic attacks.

"I know he's not human but to me he's like my baby" said the ardent animal-lover.

She says she was told by police that the officer dealing with the case would definitely ring her back on Tuesday (December 29) with an update but he had not done so.

The officer's mobile phone is now switched off, she says.

She added: "It's wearing me down now. I have wrapped no Christmas presents this year. I couldn't face it. It's the first year in 54 years we haven't had Christmas. I haven't even had a Christmas dinner - it's all still in the freezer.

"We had a baked potato. I don't want to get out of bed. Life isn't worth living. It's nearly three weeks now. I desperately need him back. I miss him so much."

The dog that was involved in the attack was with a man at the time but, as previously reported, Mrs Roberts said it could not have been her husband who is not well enough to walk him.

He remains on dialysis and has suffered three heart attacks. Mrs Roberts says he was asked to come down to Worcester Police station to meet with officers but told them he was at high risk from Covid-19. She says she asked them to come to the house instead but says they have refused.

Mrs Roberts said her husband had suffered a 'terrible fall' over Christmas, bashing his head and was not well enough to go to the police station. Her husband, aged 79, also has letters from the Government and from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham which she says confirm that he is 'high risk' from the pandemic because of heart failure and because he is in the last stages of kidney disease.

Mrs Roberts has also been told that her husband will not be resuscitated if he goes back into hospital and becomes unwell.

"They were happy enough to come to my house when they seized my dog. But they won't come around now and interview him at the house" said Mrs Roberts.

A spokesperson for West Mercia Police said: "We are currently investigating the sad death of a another dog that took place in the summer, as part of our duty to investigate that death and ensure that where possible we mitigate any future risk to the owners, the community and all our beloved pets.

"We have been regularly communicating to the owners of the suspect dog; the last update regarding the case progression and the care of the dog was provided by a police sergeant on Christmas Eve.

"Sadly, we had arranged for an interview on December 20 with the owner, along with a solicitor, which the owner failed to attend or rearrange. We are unable to conduct such investigation interviews within a home address.

"We have now submitted a file to the CPS, which the owners have been informed of, and once they have made a decision we will be able to conclude our investigation and hopefully return the dog to them."