A DISTRAUGHT Bury dad bravely rescued his eight-year-old son when the youngster’s arm became locked in the jaws of a dog.

Mr Ali Shah told how he had to repeatedly hit the bull terrier type dog with a stick before it finally released its grip on his screaming son, Mujtabi.

The youngster later underwent a four-hour operation in hospital to repair damaged tissue and had 42 stitches inserted into arm and hip wounds.

Police have seized the animal which is being held in kennels to allow officers to assess whether it is a prohibited dog.

Meanwhile, the schoolboy is recovering at his home in Shepherd Street following his ordeal on Good Friday. He sustained numerous bites in the attack which happened in Back South Cross Street, just yards from the boy’s home.

Mr Ali Shah, aged 43, said: “Mujtabi was among a group of around a dozen children who were playing outside. After one of the little ones came in to get me, I went outside and heard Mujtabi cry, ‘dad, help me.’ He was being attacked by a big dog which I thought was a pit bull.

“My son was trying to run away as the dog was following him. It went for his throat and then got his right arm in its jaws. I grabbed a stick and tried to hit the dog with it. I got it several times and it eventually let go and ran off. But the attack must have lasted for five minutes.”

He added: “There was a lot of blood and we immediately phoned for an ambulance. My son was taken to Fairfield Hospital. He had 35 stitches put into his arm and seven into his hip. On the Saturday, he had four hours of surgery to repair tissue damage to his arm.”

On Sunday, the Holy Trinity Primary School pupil was allowed home where he is currently recovering from his injuries.

Mr Shah, who has two other sons, continued: “Mujtabi has been left very traumatised by what happened. He’s very scared and doesn’t want to go outside at the moment.”

A spokesman for Bury Police said: “We can confirm that the dog was taken away and it is currently in kennels. We believe it is a Staffordshire bull terrier. But it’s now being assessed to determine if it’s a prohibited dog and this could take up to a week.”