A four-year-old boy was badly mauled on his lower jaw by a pack of street dogs while playing in front of his house in Kerala's Kollam district on Wednesday.

The boy has been admitted to the Trivandrum Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, police said.

The boy's mother, who tried to chase away the dogs, was bitten on her hands and legs.

The incident comes three days after a 65-year-old woman was mauled to death by a pack of dogs at coastal hamlet Pullivilla near Thiruvananthapuram, prompting the state government to announce stern measures, including culling of violent dogs, to check the menace.

According the mother of the boy, he was attacked while playing in front of his house.

"When I tried to push them away I was bitten on the hands and legs," she told television channels.

Meanwhile, incidents of dog bites have been reported from rural areas of the city and Palakkad district.

Eight persons at Palakkad and another at Pullivilla were attacked by street dogs.