A DELIVERY worker who had her finger bitten off by a pitbull as she delivered a card has told how police refused to get it back.

Nicola Cringle, 32, said she is in constant pain and struggles even to dress herself after her hand was savaged by the vicious mutt in front of her terrified 11-year-old daughter.

The Hermes worker was posting a note through a door in Swinton, Gtr Manchester to inform the owners that their parcel was left with their neighbours when the dog clamped its jaws on her digit.

Nicola was pulled forward by the sheer strength of the ferocious animal and smacked her head on the front door as she screamed for help.

The mum-of-three told Manchester Evening News: "I was trying to pull my hand back, but it was not letting go. I was screaming and kicking the door."

And when she pulled free she was horrified to discover half of her forefinger had been chewed clean off.

Nicola added: "When I got my hand out of the door I only had half a finger.

"It had ripped my tendon out. Half of my finger and tendon was on the other side of the door."

A neighbour who heard Nicola's screams ran to her help and called the police.

But officers said they did not have the power to force entry into the property without a court order.

And they did not believe there was an "urgent" need to retrieve the finger when surgeons later said the possibility of reattaching it was unlikely.

Cops also refused to take Nicola to the hospital, she claims, after she waited at a kind neighbour's house for an hour.

Eventually the stranger took her to hospital where medics told Nicola they would not be able to save her finger.

The "shrivelled" finger was eventually retrieved and taken to hospital five hours later but by then it was too late.

Nicola, from Bury, has since had to undergo several operations to patch up her mutilated hand and has been unable to return to work since her ordeal on October 8.

She added: "I am in agony all of the time, my partner is having to dress me.

"I complained to police. The response said they didn't break the door down because the dog did not pose a risk to the general public.

"It is frustrating I have got no finger and nobody is taking responsibility for it."

A written response from Greater Manchester Police to Nicola's case read: "The officers considered their options and in doing so liaised with hospital staff to see if re attachment of the finger was a viable option if recovered.

"They were informed it was unlikely this would be possible.

"They considered their powers of entry under section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence act however did not believe they had a power to enter the address in the circumstances presented."

It added: "The dog was secure in the house and not a threat.

"There is no power under the Dangerous Dogs act to enter in these circumstances and a warrant from court would be required."

The dog is believed to have gone missing since the attack.

GMP are treating the incident as a dangerous dogs offence and an investigation is ongoing.