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A mother has described the horror of seeing her young son bitten in the face by a dog in a busy town centre.

Anima Galaky, 32, was shopping in Sutton High Street with a friend when her son Dre Grove, three, ran over to stroke two dogs tied up outside a shop.

One, believed to be a mastiff crossbreed, sunk its teeth into the boy’s face and pulled him to the floor. Dre broke free but was “gushing blood” from bite wounds to his lip, cheek and under his chin, his mother said.

“I was sorting the shopping bags out and Dre ran off without me seeing him so he could stroke two dogs. My friend shouted to me and said to get him away because she didn’t trust the dogs to behave. I looked up and took a couple of steps toward him and the brown dog went for his face.

“It pulled him over by his lip onto the floor. Luckily it got tangled in its lead and let him go. Who knows what would have happened if it had not? Dre had an open wound on his face that was gushing blood. I was shaking.”

An off-duty nurse and a paramedic were nearby when the incident happened on August 21, and provided first aid until ambulance crews and police arrived. Dre was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting for stitches and kept in for 24 hours.

The Metropolitan Police said two dogs were seized. A 29-year-old man was interviewed under caution on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. He was released pending further investigation.

Ms Galaky, a mother of three, said her son was now “more cautious” around strangers’ dogs. “Dre is fine now and was very brave. He has been okay with other dogs since it happened,” she added.

“He is more cautious but that is something I’ve always tried to instill in him. I’ve told him to always ask permission to stroke dogs but he is only three and doesn’t grasp the concept of that yet.

“It made me more aware of the danger. I posted on Facebook and had a mixed response. I’d never want this happen to someone else’s child. Was it irresponsible to let him wander off? No, as I didn’t see him. He was by my side then ran off in two seconds. It was just a very nasty accident.”

The Met said: “Police were called at 1.36pm to reports of a child being bitten. Officers and London Ambulance Service attended.”