Locals in Leicester turned on police who seized a “vicious” XL Bully dog that hospitalised a security guard.

The dog’s owner was denied entry into a shop by the guard when the animal bit the Highcross Shopping Centre staff member.

The dog – which bit the security guard on the arm and leg – was led away by police, leaving the public outraged.

Footage captured and shared online shows a group of vexed locals swearing at officers who seized the canine.

The video was captioned: “Can I just come here to say the dog had bit a security guard? The security guard was fine.

“A man was arrested today for his XL Bully ‘attacking’ a security guard. With his child next to him, he was sobbing his heart out because these police officers were taking his family dog away.

“The dog got noosed away from his owners. With eight police officers there for a ‘violent dog’. The dog was so calm, as you can see in the video, police pointing tasers at the poor dog.”

It has received over 45,900 likes and more than 4,490 comments.

In the clip, a woman berates an officer for taking away the dog, pointing to a child standing next to the dog’s owner, asking him: “If that was your child, what would you do?’

The owner pleads with the police to let the dog go whilst the dog tries to shake the noose from its neck.

Officers also arrested a man for letting the animal out of control in public.

In the video, a person shouts: “So, you’re also arresting him? Disgusting, the lot of you.”

The dog’s owner has since been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Leicestershire Police said: “It has come to our attention that several videos and posts have been published on social media about an incident in the city centre [on Saturday] where a man was detained and an XL Bully dog was seized.