Bike boy savaged by guard dog

10:23am Thursday 8th March 2007

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POLICE are investigating after a guard dog took a golf ball sized' lump out of a boy's shoulder in South Woodford while he was cycling in a car park.

The attack on Liam Mulligan, 15, of Carnarvon Road, on Friday was so severe that he was transferred to two hospitals and it was feared his wounds would need skin grafts.

Liam, who attends Normanhurst School in Chingford, had the day free after a week on work-experience, and was cycling with a friend around the Viaduct, off George Lane.

They found that part of the car park there was being used by a TV production company as a base while they recorded an advert for phone company Nokia.

The youngsters asked the security guard if they could go into an unused part of the car park to play on their bikes but, 20 minutes later, as Liam stood with his bike, the Staffordshire bull-terrier dragged him to the ground and started savaging him.

Liam said: "He bit the back of my leg and, when I fell over, he came around and bit my arm. I was shouting in pain and the security guard came over and hit him and he ran away. He said sorry, are you alright?, Blood was coming down my arm and they took me to the trailer."

A unit nurse attempted to patch the boy up while an ambulance and the police were called. Liam was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital before being transferred to a specialist skin-graft unit at a hospital in Chelmsford where he spent two nights before being released.

His mother, Sara, said: "There was a golf ball sized lump hanging off and they had to stitch all the way around it. If you're going to allow young boys in, then you don't have your dog that could potentially cause damage running around there."

Liam has to return to the hospital tomorrow (Friday) to have his wounds redressed. The production company, Another Film Company, refused to comment.