THE neighbour of a girl mauled to death by a pack of dogs has teamed up with a local band to raise money for dog-only parks.

Tragic Jade Lomas-Anderson died in March last year aged 14 after being attacked by dogs while visiting a friend in Atherton.

Since Jade’s death, her mum Shirley Anderson and stepdad Michael have led a high-profile campaign calling for tougher sentences for owners whose dogs attack people.

They have been calling for a change in the law to tighten up the rules governing irresponsible dog owners.

The issue has been raised in the House of Commons by Bolton West MP Julie Hilling.

Now friend and neighbour Royston Brett has teamed up with local band Joint Venture to increase funding and awareness.

The 41-year-old, who has previously cycled from Manchester to London in honour of Jade, said: “Jade was a lovely girl and she is truly missed.

“We need to keep going to make sure it doesn’t happen again so that another family doesn’t have to go through the heartache that Jade’s family went through.”

The idea of the dog-only parks is to stop children playing around aggressive dogs and to reduce fighting between the animals. A target has been set to have the first park up and running by the start of next year — but £25,000 needs to be raised.

Band leader Barbara Keith contacted Mr Brett over social networking site LinkedIn after expressing an interest in doing charity work in Jade’s name.

“It’s a good campaign. I had two almost sleepless nights thinking about it,” she said.

“Not all dogs are dangerous but parents won’t be so worried about their children.

“We don’t know when these things are going to happen, they just happen.”

The first gig is on Friday, January 24 at Old Isaacs pub in Atherton at 8pm and Mr Brett is seeking anyone who could put future venues forward or donate raffle prizes.