The 56-year-old victim was named by the Foreign Office as Margaret Ann Gordon. She was originally from Wallsend on North Tyneside.

Mrs Gordon's calls for help brought local villagers to the scene in Nedyalsko, but she reportedly died before an ambulance arrived.

The victim had lived in Bulgaria with her husband for several years.

"The regional police in Yambol [region] said seven or eight dogs attacked her," a Foreign Office spokesman said of the death in the village, which is in the municipality of Straldja.

"People living close by heard her shouts and screams and came to help," he added.

There were reports a shepherd finally managed to drive the dogs away, but Mrs Gordon died from loss of blood before an ambulance arrived.

It was reported she may have been an asthmatic.

Packs of wild dogs are a common hazard in the country, with many beaches on the Black Sea out of bounds because of the animals. In the capital, Sofia, there are thought to be at least 35,000 street dogs.