Police were called after a girl was attacked by a dog outside the Market Tavern pub in Kirby, Mersey (Image: NA)
A three-year-old girl was left with "significant injuries" to her face after a violent dog attack outside a pub. Police have since seized the animal and arrested a man after they were called to the Market Tavern pub in Kirby, Merseyside, on Saturday afternoon.
Merseyside Police's Force Incident Manager confirmed officers were currently at the scene and the incident is ongoing. Police said that girl was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital and the dog, whose breed is yet to be determined, has been seized as a detective confirmed it will be "humanely destroyed".
Merseyside Police said the girl's injuries were deemed "serious" but "not life-threatening".
A man has been 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.”
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.
"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.
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“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.
"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."
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