Schoolgirl left badly injured after dog attack

A schoolgirl has been left badly injured after she was attacked by a neighbour's dog in Birmingham.

Tamia's dad, Thamar White, said the Staffordshire Bull Terrier took 'chunks of flesh' out of his daughter before its owners pulled the animal off her.

The attack began at around 8.15am last Thursday in a communal lobby of Dunedin House in Welsh House Farm Road, Quinton.

The eight-year-old dog, called AV, lived in the flat opposite the Whites with a couple who have a two-year-old daughter and another baby on the way.

They insisted AV – short for Aston Villa – had never bitten anyone before and was “a real softie” – but Tamia’s family insist she was not to blame.

The attack took place as the schoolgirl was leaving to go to Four Dwellings School.

Tamia, aged 11, explained what happened:

Tamia was taken by ambulance to Birmingham Children’s Hospital where she underwent three hours of surgery.

She suffered four major bites to her left arm and both legs, muscle and nerve damage, lots of scratches and will be on crutches for three weeks.

Although she is expected to make a full recovery, she has been warned she will need skin grafts.

The family said they had only seen the dog once or twice before this incident and that what angered them the most is that the dog’s owners hadn’t shown any remorse.

Tamia's parents said they were now going to apply for a transfer out of the building.

The police have seized the dog and launched an investigation into what happened.