The family of a great-grandad who was badly injured in an attack by three ferocious dogs has made a formal complaint after learning no action will be taken against the animals’ owners.

A year ago on Wednesday, Tom Powell was set upon in Moat Way, Queenborough, while he was out walking his Yorkshire terrier Sally.

He managed to rescue his pet by unchaining her lead and telling her to run home to nearby Yevele Close, but he was dragged to the ground and so badly bitten he had to have hospital treatment.

He and his wife Doreen, 79, say he hasn’t been the same since and is still suffering flashbacks, has lost three stone, has mood swings and doesn’t leave the house much any more.

Mr Powell, who turns 83 on Saturday, said: “I want to go out but when it comes to it I can’t – it’s been terrible. I was fit as a fiddle before.”

After the attack, the owners of the dogs, believed to be a cross between bull mastiffs and pit-bulls, were questioned, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take the case further.

The decision has left the couple’s granddaughter, 32-year-old Cheryl Hughes, so furious she has made a formal complaint to police.

The mum-of-four said: “It’s just unbelievable how a savage dog attack like that happens and there’s nothing the police can do yet they say these laws have got stronger and they are toughening up.

“My grandad has been through the mill and they have been let off – it’s just not fair.”

Mr Powell added: “I still think about what happened – it comes back into my head.

“It’s really affected us and Sally won’t leave me now. She follows me everywhere.”

A police spokesman said: “We thoroughly investigated this incident, but it was decided by the CPS that there was not enough evidence to proceed with charges.

“We can confirm we received a complaint and a review was undertaken.

“It was found Kent Police was correct in its handling of the incident.”

A spokesman for the CPS said a careful review of the available material provided by the police was carried out by a senior prosecutor, but it was decided there was insufficient evidence.

She added: “With every case we receive, we look at whether there is enough evidence against the defendant and, if there is, whether it is in the public interest to bring a case to court.

“The victim and witnesses describe a group of dogs being present, but unfortunately we could not prove which dog had caused the injuries.

“It was therefore our view that any prosecution would fail on this point.”