A London Colney newsagent has been forced to close after a dog was electrocuted to death while tied to a security shutter.

Rylie, a five-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier, died instantly from an electric shock on Wednesday, November 6 while its owner shopped at the Colney Mini Market in High Street.

The dog was tied to the metal shutter frame by the owner’s daughter for "two or three minutes" and was being looked after by her five-year-old grandson - who was standing close to the dog and witnessed its death.

Kate Callum, Rylie's owner, said: "We are very upset about Rylie, but I am lucky to have my children and grandchild alive."

The shop was ordered to close by St Albans District Council on Friday while further investigations take place.

When Carla Callum, 25, finished her shopping she found the family dog lying on the floor and was told it had been fitting by passersby.

She telephoned her brother, Matthew Callum, of White Horse Lane, who rushed to the scene to find Rylie had already died.

Rylie was standing outside with Carla’s son, Malakai.

Matthew said Malakai witnessed everything, which has left him traumatised.

He said: "He won’t stop crying. Because he was standing right next to him, he keeps asking if he killed Rylie.

"It is lucky he wasn’t electrocuted because he was standing right there. We all keep asking ourselves what if he had touched the shutter?"

The family, who have lived in London Colney for nine years, immediately took Rylie to the vets who confirmed the dog had died instantly from an electric shock.

St Albans & Harpenden Review: Dead dog

The 22-year-old said: "My sister was in a state. Rylie was wearing a metal collar, has a metal lead and was sitting in a puddle so he died instantly."

The family have had Rylie since he was a puppy.

Mr Callum, who works as a courier, said: "I have grown up with Rylie. We are all devastated. My sister thinks it is her fault.

"He is not just a dog - he is a member of our family. "

Engineers from UK Power Networks, which maintains the electricity network in St Albans, conducted an investigation of the shop to try and find what was at fault.

Niamh Arnett, a UK Power Network spokesman, said: "We were concerned to hear of this case and investigations have confirmed the shock was due to an internal electrical fault within the property, rather than the electricity network."

Pratheepan Rasalingan, owner of the newsagent for 12 years, said he was sorry to hear about the death of the dog but was unable to comment until he had received a full electrical report.

Kate Callum added: "The shop owner carried on trading until Friday, even though Rylie died on Wednesday.

"He would have carried on trading if the council hadn’t told him to shut shop.

"This is a lesson learnt. He needs to take responsibility. "