A ‘dangerous’ Yorkshire terrier has been seized by police who swooped in as many as five cars, leaving its 76-year-old owner feeling anxious and vulnerable.

Claudia Settimo, of Vale Crescent, Kingston Vale, said seven officers in five cars came to take her dog Alfie on Friday, August 18.

She said: “I’m in shock. I suffer from anxiety and stress, and this has made it so much worse. It was really over the top to send so many people for such a small dog. I was treated like a criminal and I’m not.”

Miss Settimo claims the police took 10-year-old Alfie because of an incident at the end of June.

She said she received a delivery from an online order and, because Alfie becomes excited around people and she lives on the ground floor, she asked the courier to leave the package outside the door.

About 10 minutes later she went outside, but the courier was still there and Alfie ran through her legs to chase him.

Miss Settimo said: “As soon as he saw my dog he was screaming ‘he’s killing me’. He fell over and I told him if he was afraid to just stay still. My neighbour came out and picked up the dog.

“It looked like the man had a little scratch above the waist, but I think that was from when he fell on the floor.”

Alfie, who Miss Settimo has had since he was a puppy, was taken away and Miss Settimo does not know when she will see him again.

She said: “I never had a letter from the police. Alfie will probably be very scared now. He’s never been in a kennel before.

“My dog is not vicious. He’s not a Rottweiler; he’s a little Yorkshire terrier. I live on my own and he’s very protective of me.

“He just likes to chase. Show me a dog who doesn’t like to chase.”

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police confirmed a search warrant was carried out at an address in Vale Crescent at 8.08am on Friday and a dog was seized under Section 5 of the Dangerous Dogs Act.