Boy, 5, had 'half his scalp ripped off' in horror XL Bully-type dog attack

An ambulance had been called, but the severity of the situation prompted a passing Good Samaritan motorist to step in and drive the pair to hospital, where, according to reports, he underwent emergency surgery following the attack.

The mother, who cannot be named, said: "He has been so brave... However, he has had half his scalp ripped off and will be scarred for life.

She said her son's skin was "ripped off down to the skull", adding: "I cannot believe how good he has been. He is a little soldier, bless him."

The attack reportedly took place at a property the mother and child had been visiting over the bank holiday weekend.

After the pair had arrived at the house, the boy was set upon "within seconds", a family friend said.

The friend added: "It took three guys to get the dog off him... If those three guys were not there, I don't think the [child] would still be here."

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Several police vans arrived at the scene, before the area was cordoned off for almost four hours.

Authorities confiscated the XL Bully-type dog from its alleged owner - but in the footage, the person can be heard pleading that "it is a good dog" to police.

And in a horrific discovery, investigators found part of the boy's bloodied scalp lying on a floor in the house, where it was later collected so surgeons could attempt to re-attach it.

A man whose wife had seen the attack said: "The kid was completely scalped. Some of his head was completely gone. You could see all his skull.

"The guy who took him to hospital came back for the scalp because the hospital only had so much time before the cells would start to die."

Humberside Police said on Wednesday said that inquiries into the attack were continuing; the force's Detective Chief Inspector Allison Sweeting said: "We are working closely with the boy’s family and the owner of the dog to understand the circumstances surrounding the incident.

"At this stage, the breed of dog is believed to be an XL bully-type and it has been seized as part of our inquiries."

If the dog is an XL Bully and it is unregistered, the mutt could face being put down under new restrictions imposed on the breed earlier this year following a spate of fatal incidents across the country.

Since February 1, it has been an offence to sell, abandon, give away, breed, or walk an unleashed and unmuzzled XL Bully dog in England and Wales, with Scotland imposing the same legislation on February 23.

Nearly 40,000 XL Bully dogs are thought to still be on Britain’s streets despite a ban on the breed being introduced - according to the banned breeds register, some 38,424 dogs were granted the £92 exemption to avoid being put down.