Blyth dog attack: Several children hospitalised after being bitten in park
A witness described the scene after the dog attack as 'like a war zone'
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Your support makes all the difference.A woman has been arrested after 11 children were injured after being mauled by a Staffordshire bull terrier in a park in Northumberland.
Nine children were taken to hospital after being bitten by the dog at the park in Blyth near Newcastle on Wednesday evening, police said.
One of the injured, a girl aged around seven, is understood to have needed skin grafts.
Officers have now arrested a 37-year-old on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control.
The animal was caught and taken to secure kennels while attempts were made to find the owner.
Fiona Richars, 33, who lives opposite the park, said her husband had helped to restrain the dog after it bit her 11-year-old daughter Isabel.
She said: "We were indoors and she came screaming through the door saying that she had been bitten.
"She said the dog was still biting people, so we told her to stay at the door and we ran over.
"My husband went straight in and there was already a dad in there trying to lift the kids out of harm's way.
"The dog was running around super-fast biting every kid in there, I saw it grab a little one by the shoulder.
"It was bedlam, they were all screaming and there were loads of kids as it's a new park."
Her husband, Brett, and another father in the park managed to back the dog into a corner and used their own lead to tie it to the railings.
She said her daughter had suffered puncture wounds to her thigh and was given antibiotics in hospital.
One of Isabel's friends was still in hospital and needed surgery, she added.
Another parent, Sheryl Allison, described the scene as "like a terrorist attack".
"There were injured kids lying all over the place, it was a warzone.
"The whole street has been traumatised by this, nothing like this has ever happened before,” she told the local paper the Newcastle Chronicle.
None of the victims were thought to be seriously injured though three were kept in overnight.
The spokesman said: "Extra officers are in the area speaking with people and offering reassurance."
Anyone with concerns or any information is asked to contact police on 101.
Additional reporting by PA
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