A Norfolk county council candidate has warned of the dangers of the campaign trail after she was bitten by a dog through a letterbox.

Deborah Gihawi, an independent candidate for Mile Cross in Norwich in next week's County Council elections, was out in the ward posting leaflets through letter boxes when she was bitten by the dog.

'I walked up to the door and there was not a warning, no bark or anything,' said Mrs Gihawi. 'I then put my hand through the letter box and as soon as I did it the teeth of the dog banged down on my hand.

'It was such a shock and the pain was excruciating.'

The former Labour councillor had to make an emergency trip to the doctor to get treatment for the five puncture wounds in her hand. She was also given a tetanus injection and prescribed a course of antibiotics.

MORE: Election candidate Deborah Gihawi bitten by young kitten, not dog, while campaigning in Norwich

She then went back to the house to post a letter to the owner of the dog explaining what had happened and this time she was prepared.

'I used a coat hanger to post the letter through but I could still hear the dog behind the door,' she said. 'It ran at me like a banshee and I could see its white paws.'

Mrs Gihawi had to postpone campaigning for the rest of the day as she was 'so shaken up'. She has since had a phone call from the owner of the property, apologising for what happened.

But with county council elections and a general election in the pipeline she wants to warn others about the dangers of dogs while out canvassing.

'Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and I don't want to happen to anyone else, people need to think about this when they are out delivering leaflets,' she said.

The independent Mile Cross candidate will be standing against Alex Jackson-Dennis (Conservative), David Rowell (UKIP), Chrissie Rumsby (Labour), Lisa Shaw (Green) and Magda Siwiec (Lib Dem) in the vote next week.

Have you got an election campaign story to tell us? Email jessica.long@archant.co.uk