Seven-year-old girl in critical condition after being gored by bull during festival in Spain

Local mayor insists safety regulations were followed and bull broke through lock on metal barrier

At least four people have been killed in encierros since the start of the year (Getty Images)

A seven-year-old girl is fighting for her life in hospital after being seriously mauled by an escaped bull in Spain.

The child was gored in the buttocks and the abdomen by the animal which broke through the protective barrier during a bull run in Alfamén in the north east of the country.

The town was holding its annual encierro where people chase bulls through the town ahead of a fight with a matador on Monday evening.

Alfamén mayor Alejandro Gil told the Local the safety regulations had been followed but the bull broke through a lock on the metal barrier.

He described the incident as a “horrible accident”.

The girl is said to be in a “serious but stable” condition as the bull missed her vital organs. Paramedics treated her at the scene and she was taken to a nearby children’s hospital.

The incident comes a month after a top Spanish matador was mauled to death on live television by a bull which pierced his chest.

Victor Barrio suffered catastrophic injuries to his thigh and chest during the fight in the central city of Teruel on Saturday.

In 2015, 14 people died while taking part in encierro races.

Four spectators have been killed so far this year including a woman who stepped into the path of a raging bull from the doorway of her home in Murcia, southern Spain.

Animal rights campaigners have repeatedly called for the practice to be banned, with Peta calling it “barbaric”.

Despite its traditional popularity in Spain, where it is shown on national television, public opinion has turned against bullfighting festivals in recent years.

Several place have banned the practice outright, including the separatist region Catalonia.

Last year, following the success of left wing parties such as Podemos in several major towns and cities across the country, the new mayors of Madrid, Alicante and Valencia all vowed to abolish the practice.

The village of Villafranca de los Caballeros, near Toledo in central Spain, announced it was cancelling its annual bullfighting festival in 2015 and would use the annual €18,000 to pay for new textbooks.