THE funeral of a teenage girl mauled to death by dogs has been delayed because her family cannot afford it, a Bolton MP has said.

Jade Anderson was savaged by four dogs, believed to be two bull mastiffs and two Staffordshire bull terriers, when she was alone at a friend’s house in Chaucer Grove, Atherton, on March 26.

Speaking during a House of Commons debate, Bolton West MP Julie Hilling claimed the funeral had been delayed because her family did not have enough money to bury her.

She told the House of Commons: “Jade Lomas- Anderson, the 14-year-old child killed by dogs in my constituency, still has not had her funeral, because her parents and the community are still frantically trying to raise enough money to pay for it.”

Ms Hilling later told The Bolton News: “They didn’t have any money and had to raise it.

“It just adds tragedy to tragedy really, doesn’t it?

“I think it’s terrible that people in this position then have to undergo something like this. As a civilised society we should be doing more to help people in this position.”

The death of 14-year-old Jade, a pupil at Fred Longworth High School in Tyldesley, has sparked calls for tougher laws .

Ms Hilling has been working with Jade’s parents for new measures, including the introduction of dog control notices, which could allow conditions such as muzzling, keeping dogs on a lead, keeping them away from children and limiting the number of dogs in a household to be imposed on owners of animals judged to be out of control. The dogs that killed Jade were shot at the scene by police marksmen while a fifth, judged to be no threat to the public, was contained.

A police spokesman said prosecution was unlikely, although one may be brought in the future.

Ms Hilling said the campaign for tighter controls was gathering pace with a petition due to be introduced across the Bolton area.

She said: “Jade’s parents are determined to fight until the law is changed.

“They want people to know the misery this has caused them, and that this is what happens if you don’t protect children.”