Shocking photographs reveal the injuries suffered by an 11-year-old boy after he was savaged by two dogs in a park.

Lewis Barkley was left needing more than 300 stitches after a pair of Staffordshire Bull Terriers attacked him as he played football in the park.

The terrified youngster underwent four hours of surgery at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool and burst into tears when he first saw his scars.

Fredrick Farnsworth has been jailed for 18 months after he admitted to being in charge of the dangerously out of control animals.

Lewis Barkley was left needing more than 300 stitches (pictured in hospital) after a pair of Staffordshire Bull Terriers attacked him as he played football in the park

However the 'despicable' pensioner, 73, refused to name the owner or location of the dogs, despite an order being made for their destruction to protect the public.

Judge Gary Woodhall said Farnsworth showed 'a complete lack of remorse' and told him: 'You should hang your head in shame.'

The grandfather had been walking the two dogs without leads or collars, despite an incident earlier that same day where they destroyed a child's football.

Shortly after the attack in Speke, Merseyside, both animals disappeared from a garage owned by Farnsworth, who has shown no remorse.

A police officer told Liverpool Crown Court how he arrived to find Lewis 'crying hysterically' with blood coming from his face and chest.

The youngster was forced to make repeat visits to hospital for treatment, and even developed deadly sepsis from his wounds.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Farnsworth denied perverting the course of justice by allegedly misleading police over the location of the dogs.

He was set to stand trial but prosecutors were forced to drop the charge after conceding there was not a realistic prospect of a conviction.

Fredrick Farnsworth (left, outside Liverpool Magistrates' Court) has been jailed for 18 months after he admitted to being in charge of the dangerously out of control animals (shown right)

Farnsworth claimed he did not even know the names of the dogs - one black and one beige - owned by a man called Mark who is in jail.

Edmund Haygarth, prosecuting, said: 'The Crown would say foolishly and irresponsibly he took them out into the park without collars and without leads.'

The two boys were playing football in a caged area, in a park off Stapleton Avenue, at around 5pm, when the beige dog ran over and jumped up.

Witnesses Shane Oosthuizen and Megan Herbert, who were walking their three dogs, saw the children try to climb onto a raised area to escape.

Farnsworth slowly ran over to intervene but it was heroic Mr Oosthuizen who dragged the dogs off Lewis, before other people came to help.

Farnsworth said he took the dogs home and locked them in his garage before going back to the park, but when he returned with police, they had gone.

He confessed that the dogs had earlier ripped apart a football belonging to some other boys and he had paid them £10, before the second attack.

The OAP told officers he heard Lewis screaming 'I think I'm going to die', but refused to name the two people he initially said owned the animals.

Mr Haygarth said: 'The families' anger and I think the anger of much of the community at large is the fact the dogs are still out there.'

The court heard the incident left Lewis scarred for life and both he and his friend psychologically damaged and requiring counselling.

The youngster was forced to make repeat visits to hospital for treatment, and even developed deadly sepsis from his wounds (pictured)

Farnsworth had 12 previous convictions for 19 offences, the last in 1999, mostly for dishonesty and driving matters, but also assaults in the 1960s.

Mr Rawson said: 'It was an offence brought about by his lack of foresight. He regrets it, he's upset about it and he's sorry.'

He said Farnsworth had parental responsibility for his 16 year-old grandson, but if he was jailed, his wife would look after the boy.

Judge Woodhall said a man of Farnsworth's age and ill health was never going to be able to control the dogs and by the time he intervened it was 'too little, too late'.

He said: 'You claimed to not know where they had gone. I don't accept that. You know full well where those dogs are and you're refusing to assist the authorities in finding them.

'What if it was your 16-year-old grandson? What message would it send to you and the public if the person responsible did nothing to ensure the dogs could be found?'

Judge Woodhall noted that in a pre-sentence report Farnsworth said he would rather spend time in prison than place his grandson at risk by naming the dogs' owner.

He said: 'It seems you're in effect condoning what happened - putting other members of the public at risk of serious injury.'

The judge ordered the destruction of the dogs and banned Farnsworth from keeping dogs indefinitely.

Unrepentant Farnsworth showed no emotion as he was jailed for 18 months.