A young child has been left with terrible facial injuries after being savaged by a dog in front of his horrified mum.
The five-year-old, whose eye, ears and cheeks were damaged in Thursday’s attack in a Doncaster park, faces long lasting scars.
A 29-year-old man was arrested and has since been released on bail while the dog remains in police kennels.
The boy was walking with his mum in Mexborough, South Yorkshire, when a dog off the lead ‘aggressively’ approached him, police said.
The dog, thought to be a bull breed, attacked the boy’s face, who was then rushed to hospital.
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In a separate incident, an XL Bully dog killed a nine-month-old baby in South Wales on Sunday.
Two people were arrested after emergency services were called to an address in Crossway, Rogiet, following a report of an attack by a family dog.
The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, and Gwent Police confirmed two people were in custody.
They were held on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control, causing injury resulting in death.
They have since been released on police bail as inquiries continue.
A ban on XL Bullies in England and Wales was imposed on February 1, 2024, making it a criminal offence to own an XL Bully without an exemption certificate.
In 2024, there were 32,568 recorded offences involving out-of-control dog attacks nationwide.
That was a 4% increase on 2023’s total of 31,398, according to Freedom of Information figures obtained by the BBC.
In Gloucestershire the number of cases reported to police increased by 70% from 204 incidents in 2019, to 346 last year.
In Wiltshire and Avon and Somerset cases went up by just over 50%.
All forces saw an upward trend in attacks – with South Yorkshire reporting the smallest increase – 22%.
Inspector Steve Usher said: ‘This incident should never happen and could have be avoided by responsible ownership.
‘If you are in an area with children who can act in excitable and unpredictable ways, there should be no reason a dog should be off its lead.
‘Being a responsible owner is the difference between dogs causing fear and harm in our community.
‘Please do your part and act. Do not think it won’t happen to you, or your dog would never do that. Any dog has the potential to cause injury.’
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