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Police have admitted liability for a vicious dog attack that left a Leicester City fan covered in blood outside the King Power Stadium.

The fan suffered a 5ins scar to his arm when the animal latched onto it without warning.

It took at least 90 seconds to get the dog off, and the handler was also bitten.

The victim – a dog lover himself – has been arguing since then that the use of police dogs at football grounds is excessive.

The attack was witnessed by dozens of fans as the supporter walked home from City’s 2-2 draw with Manchester Utd on December 23.

Nottinghamshire Police has now admitted it was at fault, but has still not concluded an internal investigation.

Leicester City has also expressed “significant concerns” and the victim has been told by the club it no longer uses Notts police dogs on match days.

Notts Police said both the dog and handler have undergone additional training.

The dad-of-two from south Leicestershire, who asked not to be named, said: “You can’t blame the dog for what happened.

“I understand it’s been retrained so hopefully it will never be involved in another incident like this again.

“However, those responsible for the dog need to be held accountable.

“I would not go through the trauma again for any amount of money – any compensation won’t reflect the impact the incident has had on me.

“The most crucial thing is for no other fans to be bitten by a police dog, not under any circumstances.

“Having said all that, I am pleased policies for deploying police dogs outside the stadium are being changed.”

The victim said the dog – which he described as a “lethal weapon” – had come out of nowhere and would not let go as the handler desperately tried to stop it.

He said: “I type for a living and my big fear was that I would lose the use of my right arm.

“Even if there had been a minor skirmish, it would still have been disproportionate to be attacked in such a savage way.”

Programme seller Margaret Bramley-Brown was walking with her grandson and the victim as the dog attacked.

She said: “It was an awful incident.

“I know this has impacted on young children who witnessed it too, including my grandson – he remains quite nervous around dogs as a result."

A spokeswoman for Notts Police said: “Internal reviews can take as long as six months as they are often sent out for independent review by an external force.

“The handler is at work and the dog is back on duty. Both have taken part in additional training.

“Notts Police are no longer part of the regional collaboration – EMOppS – and so this may explain why Notts dogs no longer support on match days, however we support our regional colleagues where that is required.”

A Leicester City spokesman said matchday deployment remains a matter for police, but was regularly reviewed and the club had “expressed significant concerns following the incident in question”.

She said they were now working with Leicestershire Police to ensure “decisions on future matchday deployment are as well informed as possible”.