A retired police officer whose rottweilers mauled a two-year-old girl in an east London park has avoided prison.

Nigel Gray's dogs, Indiana and Dakota, 'tossed the girl around like a toy' in Raphael Park in Romford, a court heard.

The girl's terrified mother said that she thought her toddler would die in the attack, whilst Judge Sarah-Jane Griffiths said it could 'easily' have resulted in her death.

Just 15 months earlier, Gray's dogs killed another dog in a savage attack in Bedfords Park. 

Pensioner Richard Orr, who was injured in the incident, had to have his dog put down as a result.

Mr Orr claimed he'd pleaded with police to act before the dogs struck again, but felt officers weren't interested. He said Gray's sentence was a 'joke'.

Gray, of Romford, admitted three charges of owning a dog that caused injury whilst dangerously out of control. 

He was not banned from keeping dogs in the future, but the court heard he had already agreed to the two rottweilers being put down. 

The mother of the girl attacked by Indiana and Dakota in February described the mauling to the court, saying: 'At one point [my daughter] stopped screaming.

'I now believe this is because she went into shock, but in the moment, my thoughts turned dark.

'I thought she was dead.'

The mother and daughter were walking towards the children's play area when they passed Gray and his dogs, both of which were on a lead.

Prosecutor Shagana Joseph said the toddler screamed as one of the dogs approached her, but a woman who was with Gray reassured her, saying 'don't worry - they're friendly'.

However just moments after, the dogs started to attack the child, pulling her to the floor before dragging her around the park.

One dog attacked her neck, the other dog attacked her leg, Ms Joseph said.

'Two rottweilers versus a two-year-old girl, plus her mum, who is tightly holding her as she's being tossed around like a toy,' she added.

The girl's mother told the court: 'The dogs tugged at her little body as if she were a toy, trying to pull her away from me... But I refused to let her go.

'I remember her screams. They are something I cannot forget and they return to me at the most unexpected moments.'

The court heard Gray eventually managed to separate his dogs from the child, before telling the mother: 'I'm sorry, I don't know what to say.'

The girl was taken to Queen's Hospital with ten puncture wounds, though Judge Griffiths said: 'When I read how the two dogs attacked her, it could quite easily have resulted in her death.'

The girl's mother said her daughter continues to struggle because of the attack. 

'She is frightened of almost anything,' she said. 'Even the smallest thing - a bee, a fly - causes her to panic. She no longer understands what is and isn't a threat.

'She is covered in scars. Whether they fade as she grows older does not change the fact that she should not have had to endure something so painful.

'Knowing the attack could have been prevented had those dogs been muzzled or if previous attacks had been taken seriously makes it even harder to bear.'

She described Gray as having had an 'arrogant' manner when responding to the attacks.

She said: 'On the day of the incident, Mr Gray was cold, rude, ignorant and patronising. His apology was brief and felt insincere.'

His arrogance, was also described by Mr Orr, following his run-in with Gray and his dogs 15 months earlier.  

Mr Orr had been walking in Bedfords Park when the rottweilers came out of nowhere and attacked his dog Wilson, a dachshund-cocker spaniel cross.

One of the rottweilers also bit Mr Orr's hand as he knelt to protect Wilson Ms Joseph said.

Mr Orr shouted at Gray, 'You're killing my dog'.

Mr Gray responded: 'Don't be silly'.

Ms Joseph added: 'Eventually Mr Gray, with another man, managed to pull these dogs away and whilst doing so, they did not say anything to Mr Orr.'

Mr Orr's jeans were ripped in the attack and his hand was bleeding heavily, the court heard.

Wilson suffered neurological problems from the attack and was put down months later.

Judge Griffiths said she lacked the veterinary evidence to conclude that the attack had caused Wilson's death.  

Mr Orr said: 'Mr Gray is a large, intimidating man. He has an arrogance to him and all our interactions have been volatile - him being aggressive and swearing at me.'

Samuel March, defending, said his client was very remorseful and denied that he swore at Mr Orr.

He added that 30 years in the police force taught him to be unfazed in stressful situations like these, which may have led to him coming across as cold or rude.

But Judge Griffiths told Gray: 'It is striking that both Mr Orr and [the girl's mother] describe you in that way.

'I accept [that] with your training and experience as a police officer, you will deal with events in a matter-of-fact way.

'But that's not what they're saying. They are saying you were ignorant, arrogant and rude. That is different.'

Mr March said Gray had taken steps to control his dogs better by keeping them on choke collars when the second attack happened.

Handing Gray a suspended sentence, Judge Griffiths said: 'The defendant should have muzzled the dogs following the first incident, whether it was an attack on a dog or a person.

'While the incident is a serious offence and it could have warranted an immediate custodial sentence, there would be nothing achieved by that.

'I accept what [the girl's mother] said: that as a police officer, you should have known the dangers.'

Judge Griffiths sentenced Gray to one year in custody, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 60 hours of unpaid work.