Story By: Lisa-Maria Goertz, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

A dog owner is facing manslaughter charges after his three hounds tunnelled under the fence into the garden of a neighbour aged 81 and killed him.

The incident was reported in the city of Villaverde del Río, in the southern Spanish province of Seville.

According to national news station Antena 3, the emergency services received a call from a local asking for assistance for an elderly man who had been attacked by three dogs.

A helicopter was dispatched and agents of the Civil Guard and an ambulance travelled to the area to assist the critically injured man who was not named.

However, the health team could only confirm that he had died as a result of bite wounds to the head, arms and face.

According to national newspaper La Vanguardia, it was later found that the victim was the owner of the land where the attack had occurred but was not the owner of the dogs.

He had apparently been walking around his property when he suddenly came across the three dogs who had managed to make a hole under the fence.

The man reportedly tried to scare the dogs away, who responded by attacking him instead.

The dogs have been locked up on the land until social services will take care of them and their owner has been arrested and charged with reckless homicide, according to La Vanguardia.

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.