Girl, 3, bitten on face in horror dog attack outside pub

02 September 2023 , 17:14

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Police were called after a girl was attacked by a dog outside the Market Tavern pub in Kirby, Merseyside, on Saturday afternoon

A three-year-old girl was attacked by a dog outside a pub as police seize the animal and arrested a man.

Officers were called to the Market Tavern pub in Kirkby, Merseyside, on Saturday afternoon after calls were made reporting the young girl being mauled by the dog. Officers were seen flanking the pub following the attack, which happened shortly after 3pm.

The girl has been rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital, police say. The dog, whose breed is yet to be determined, has been seized as a detective confirms it will be "humanely destroyed".

Merseyside Police said the girl's injuries were deemed "serious" but "not life-threatening", with a man currently held on suspicion of owning a dangerously out of control dog. The force said: "Officers were called to Newtown Gardens, outside the Market Tavern pub, just after 3.15pm following a report that the dog had bitten the child to the face."

Police confirmed the dog has been seized and will be destroyed

The statement added: "Officers attended and seized the dog – which will be examined to determine the breed. The area was busy at the time and a number of witnesses have been spoken to and all CCTV opportunities are being explored.

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"We are appealing for further witnesses to come forward and for anyone with footage that may assist enquiries to contact police. A 31-year-old man from Ormskirk has been arrested on suspicion of affray and having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place. He has been taken into custody to be questioned."

Merseyside Chief Inspector Jim Wilde said: "This was a horrific attack which has left a young girl receiving hospital treatment for significant injuries to her face. I want to reassure people that she is currently receiving the best possible care and treatment for her injuries at Alder Hey, and we hope she makes a speedy recovery.

"We seized the dog at the scene, which will now be humanely destroyed, and extensive efforts are now underway to establish exactly what happened. I want to appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident, who may have information which could help us with our investigation to come forward as soon as possible.

The youngster was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital

"You may even live locally and have CCTV, or have been passing in a vehicle and captured dashcam footage – if so, we want to hear from you. This case highlights in the starkest terms the potential dangers of dogs, and I would appeal to anyone with information about dangerous dogs in their area to contact us so that we can take pro-active action."

Staff at the Market Tavern - the cordon outside which has since been removed - said they were "devastated" over the news. A spokesperson for the pub said the attack happened outside, and that they were now working with detectives.

The spokesman said: "We have CCTV which covers the area and we are working with the police. We ask all dog owners to act responsible in public areas, especially around children, our thoughts are with the little girl at this time, we hope she is ok, all our staff are really devasted [sic] as to what happened outside."

The horrifying attack comes as The Mirror is currently campaigning for a tougher crackdown on dangerous dogs. Ministers are being called to re-evaluate the Dangerous Dogs Act following a spate of attacks in recent months - some of which have involved children and even been fatal.

Jamie Greer