The man believed to be the owner of the dog which mauled to death a woman at her home has been arrested.

Alex Blackburn-Smith had been urgently sought by police following the victim's death last night at a house on Demesne Road, Wallington, south London. She was named locally as Barbara Williams.

The Belgian mastiff, described by one officer as large and ferocious, was shot dead by police marksmen.

Tonight, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "A 34-year-old man has this evening attended a south London police station and has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and suspicion of cultivating cannabis."

Sources confirmed that the arrested man was Blackburn-Smith.