A footballer has been mauled to death over the weekend by three of his dogs in South Africa.

Zambian football star Philemon Mulala, 60, was found lifeless in the garden of his home in the South African town of Lichtenburg, according to a statement by the South African Police Service.

After finding him on Saturday, his wife contacted the emergency services who rushed to the scene.

He couldn't be saved and was pronounced dead in his garden.

According to the police press release, his partner heard the dogs barking from the other side of their home, but failed to check because the dogs are "frequently barking at pedestrians and vehicles passing by".

She then went looking in the house looking for her husband but couldn't find him.

 

 

After going outside, she realised her husband had been bitten by their two staffordshire bull terrier/pitbull crosses, and another dog which is of unknown breed.

South African cops say an investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the events.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SAPS) removed the dogs from the scene and took them to shelters.

The Football Association of Zambia's (FAZ) general secretary Adrian Kashala lead the tributes to the late star.

Speaking with Times Live newspaper, Mr Kashala said: "We remain with wonderful memories that the late Philemon honoured us with on the pitch."

"There is a lot that today’s players can learn from the deceased’s generation,” he added.

Mr Mulala played for the Zambian national team and the Mufulira Wanderers.

 

 

In the 1980s, he moved to South Africa to play for the Kaizer Chiefs and then the Cape Town Spurs.

In a similar "horrific" attack last year, a man arrived home to find his pet pitbull eating his wife's mutilated body.

Marina Verriest, 70, from Nassau County, New York, was killed by her family's pit bull after her husband returned home to find the animal “still eating on the body", according to police.

The 66-year-old husband returned to their home at around 1pm on Wednesday, July 27, when the animal was still chewing on her-mutilated corpse.

The horrified man called the police, and when they entered the family home the seven-year-old dog charged towards him - forcing the officer to draw their gun and kill the dog.

Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a press conference: “The scene was pretty horrific.