Toddler left requiring surgery after XL Bully attack 'came out of nowhere'

His mother used herself as a shield to try and save her child during the attack in Greenwich on Monday.

The toddler left hospital this morning after surgery was performed on his leg.

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Fortunately, no amputation was needed. The dog’s owner was arrested at the scene.

The toddler had been staying with his parents in the DoubleTree Hilton hotel and the attack happened outside the four-star property.

The child’s father said: “It was a shocking and horrific ordeal to go through but he’s going to be OK. The dog latched on to my son’s thigh. He has multiple puncture wounds and bruising and has had surgery. It was vicious.

“My wife managed to get in the way of the dog slightly to shield our son and, if she hadn’t have done that, it could’ve been much worse. There is scarring on his thigh but we are thankful that he didn’t have to have his leg amputated.”

The father was at work when the attack happened. He said: “My wife and son were about to go for a walk after breakfast and my son was walking around the steps to the hotel when the dog came out of nowhere and attacked him.

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Witnesses recalled the screams which they then discovered came from a young boy being mauled by a dog.

“I heard these screams - which lasted quite a while - and so I went outside to see what was going on,” one witness said.

“There was a large group of people on the road outside the hotel. As I got nearer I could see a young boy crying and being comforted.

“His mother was by his side in shock. She was shaking and asking people, "is he going to be ok? Is he going to be all right?”

Emergency services were quickly on the scene and the boy was taken to hospital.

It is the eighth serious dog attack in Britain in 2023.

After a series of incidents, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced last month that the breed would be banned by the end of the year.

The Prime Minister called the breed a “danger to our communities” and will ban them under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Earlier this week, a 54-year-old man died in a suspected XL Bully dog attack.

A murder enquiry has since been launched and a 44-year-old man has been arrested.

In September, a four-year-old boy was left with "catastrophic facial injuries" after an XL bully dog attacked him as he attempted to see if his friend wanted to play.

The young boy now suffers from flashbacks and painful headaches following the savage attack in Norris Green, Liverpool.

The dog is believed to have mauled the boy’s head and face after he entered a friend’s garden to see if he was free to play.