A three-year-old girl had to undergo surgery after being attacked by a dog opposite a primary school.

The incident took place in Mierscourt Road in Rainham, near Miers Court Primary School, around 3.30pm on Tuesday (June 17).

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE BELOW

Dad Rowen Skinley was walking his three children down the road when three-year-old Bunnie was suddenly attacked.

He told KentOnline: “It happened parallel to the school on the main road.

“I was just walking home after the school run. The path is quite narrow, and a woman was walking her dog on the actual road itself.

“Then out of nowhere, the dog just lunged for my daughter and pulled her to the floor.

“The owner managed to pull the dog off, but when she did that, it ripped her skin open.”

He said he ended up having to hold the skin on her arm together with his hands before nearby witnesses rushed over to help.

“I was so shocked, all I had to stop the bleeding was my hands,” he added. “I had to basically hold her skin together.

“People who saw what happened came over and said that my daughter hadn't even put her hand out to the dog.

“The woman just disappeared, she didn’t leave any details or anything.”

He says the dog was a small, sandy-coloured Cockapoo.

Bunnie was rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital, where she was cleaned up and sent to St Thomas' in Westminster at 6.30am the next morning (June 18).

She had to have several X-rays to make sure the puncture hadn’t hit her bone, and then underwent plastic surgery.

She will have to go back to the hospital within a week for a check-up to assess whether she will need further work done.

Rowen said: “She’s doing well now, she’s just a bit shaken and keeps talking about how scared she is of the dog.

“She also has a lung condition and really bad asthma so she had to be marked down as a high-risk category for sedation.

“It’s really upsetting that the woman didn’t stop because it makes you fear for the safety of other kids.”

A police spokesperson confirmed an investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information to assist officers’ inquiries, including CCTV or doorbell footage, should contact police on 01634 792209, quoting 46/102876/25.

Kent Police figures show that just 3% of recorded offences where a dog has caused injury, resulted in a person being charged.

Recent data obtained by personal injury specialists Accident Claims Advice shows a year-on-year increase in the number of offences where a person in charge has allowed a dog to be dangerously out-of-control in a public place and has caused injury.

Last year, the force recorded 1,202 offences, a 49% increase compared with 808 crimes logged in 2022.