SOFIA - A pack of stray dogs mauled a British woman to death in a Bulgarian village, police said on Wednesday.

Margaret Ann Gordon, 56, was walking her pet dog when the pack of about eight wild dogs attacked her on Tuesday afternoon on the outskirts of the tiny village of Nedyalsko in south-eastern Bulgaria, a police spokeswoman said.

Gordon, who lived in Nedyalsko with her partner for the past two years, died from blood loss before an ambulance arrived.

"Her legs were gnawed to the bone," the spokeswoman said. "It is a horrible story. I don't think anything like this has ever happened in the country. It's very shocking and terrifying indeed."

The mayor of the regional municipality sent a team to Nedyalsko to catch the animals.

Street dogs are a common problem in the Balkan country. Despite efforts to solve the issue, hordes of stray dogs roam parts of the capital Sofia.