Two pit bulls attacked and killed a five-year-old boy while he walked home to his mum in South Africa.

The deceased has been identified as Zibele Liyakhanya Mthi who had stayed the night with his grandmother then set off the following day to return to his home. Sadly, he was attacked by the dogs as he walked down the street.

The attack was so savage that a tooth from one of the dogs punctured the boy’s right kidney.

The boy was still alive when he was found by horrified neighbors in the village of Dyamala, near the town of Alice in the country.

He was rushed to hospital but died later from his severe injuries.

South Africa’s SPCA animal charity has reportedly taken the dogs into care pending when a decision is made on what to do with them.

The dogs are understood to have escaped from a home near Zibele ‘s grandmother’s house.

The tragedy has increased calls for pit bulls to be banned in domestic homes in South Africa, with a petition launched to urge the government to act before there are more child deaths.