A ‘huge’ and ‘out of control’ XL Bully dog attacked a young girl who was out on a primary school field trip.
It happened at Salford Quays in Greater Manchester, shortly before 11am on Thursday and police are trying to track down the owner and the beast.
The group of 20 primary school children, accompanied by three teachers, were left in tears.
Student Conor Bennett, 19, who goes to Salford University, was walking with three friends when they saw the incident unfold.
He said: ‘We were walking to the Tesco and walked round the back of the Watersports Centre.
‘We heard a dog barking and saw it run over the bridge that goes from the Beefeater to the Watersports Centre. There must have been 20 plus kids, no older than seven. And this dog was huge, bigger than them.
‘And the dog just completely turned on them. It was just chaos, It was chasing kids around and they were pressed against the fence and it was making its way up and down the line of kids.
‘The teachers were obviously freaking out and didn’t know what to do. They stood between the kids and the dog. But there a few who were frozen and it just turned on this girl. It latched onto her and then it was literally on top of her.
‘Eventually a guy ran over and tackled this dog down. But it took him a good five minutes. He started shouting quite fouly at the teachers saying it was their fault for not getting out of the way. Another guy turned up and it was two of them trying to get this dog off.
‘It was pretty scary. The girl was in tears for ages after. Loads of the other kids were crying as well. The workers at the Watersports Centre offered for the kids to go in there.
‘I spoke to one of the teachers afterwards and they said the dog ran at them as a group. Apparently the girl froze in fear and it just went for her. It was properly gripping onto her. It pulled her coat off her shoulders. I don’t think she had any injuries but it was enough force for it to be off the floor hanging onto her.’
Conor said one of the teachers immediately managed to get some of the children away as the others tried to get the girl away from the dog.
He said him and his friends and staff at the centre helped escort the remaining children inside until the dog was brought under control, using a rope from the centre.
‘As we walked away it was causing chaos on the waterfront again. Then a police van turned up,’ Conor said.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed officers attended but said the dog and its owners had left the area before they got there.
‘Officers attended to reports of a dog out of control on The Quays shortly before 11am (Thursday, October 12)’ a spokesperson for the force said.
‘A child is thought to have sustained a bite to the finger causing no injury. Searches remain ongoing for the dog and its owners, who had left the area, and officers provided reassurance to those concerned, who were understandably shaken from the incident.’
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