A neighbour watched in horror as an alligator ripped off an arm from an 84-year-old woman in a canal in Florida.

Joy Hill, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said Carol Hough was in a critical condition.

Hough’s neighbour, Delmas Zickefoose, told the Orlando Sentinel that he saw Hough flailing in the 1.2-metre-deep canal that runs behind their mobile homes.

It was not clear how she ended up in the water.

The alligator will be killed so that authorities can perform an autopsy.

The attacks are not uncommon: a teenager lost part of his arm to an alligator in July and an airboat captain lost a hand while feeding one in June.

Meanwhile, a Florida businessman is spicing up children’s parties by bringing tiny alligators and letting them swim in clients’ swimming pools.

Bob Barrett says the gator pool parties are totally safe because the reptiles’ mouths are clamped shut with veterinary-grade tape.

He says he gives children a safety lesson and a science talk about alligators.

Barrett, who runs an alligator attraction in Madeira Beach where people can get photos taken with the young reptiles, started renting them to parties last summer when business was slow.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said Barrett had a licence to exhibit the alligators, and added that people should still always use caution when they came into contact with wild animals.