Officers believe one of two dogs attacked boy, but their whereabouts is unknown

Man has been arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control

He was rushed to Alder Hey hospital after injuries to face, legs, arms and back

Lewis Berkley has undergone surgery after being attacked by dog

The family of a boy who was mauled by a 'pitbull-type' dog say he looked like he'd been 'clawed by a bear' following the attack, and is lucky to be alive.

Lewis Berkley, 11, has undergone surgery in hospital after being attacked by the dog in a park in Speke, Liverpool.

His uncle Richie Shields, 35, said the youngster had been playing with two friends when two dogs came racing towards them yesterday afternoon.

He added that Lewis could have died if one of the wounds on his face had been just centimetres lower.

The schoolboy was left with extensive injuries to his face, legs, arms and back after one of the dogs got hold of him during the savage attack.

Lewis Berkley, 11, suffered extensive injuries after being mauled by a 'pitbull-type' dog in a park in Speke, Liverpool

Describing his nephew's injuries, Mr Shields said: 'His dad showed me a picture of Lewis last night and it looked like he'd been clawed by a bear.

'There was a gash on the back of his leg. He has bites and scratches on his hand and chest – the dogs just went for him.

'He was taken to Alder Hey where they patched him up last night and they've taken him into surgery this morning.'

He added: '[Doctors] said if one of the injuries to his face had been a couple of centimetres lower it would have got an artery and would have killed him.

'His mum Kirsty and dad Joshua are really upset and angry, they've been by his bedside.

'They want to make it clear that they're not calling for a ban on these types of dogs but it's more about the irresponsibility of the owners.'

Lewis' family described how the youngster (pictured in hospital) looked like he'd been 'clawed by a bear' following the attack

Lewis (left, with cousin Richard Shields) had been playing with friends in the park when the attack took place

Mr Shields said Lewis was playing with two friends in the park in Speke when two dogs – described as a pitbull-type and a Staffordshire bull terrier – came racing towards them.

The three boys managed to climb up a fence on a basketball court and the dogs went away, but as they came down the dogs came back and got hold of Lewis.

Mr Shields said one of Lewis' friends was also injured with the dog biting the tip of his finger off.

A 72-year-old man from the Speke area has been arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control in a public place and remains in custody for questioning.

Lewis remains at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in a serious but not life-threatening condition.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. Pictured are officers on the road next to the park

The 11-year-old was rushed to hospital after suffering extensive injuries during the attack in the park in Speke (above). Police officers were seen on the scene this morning

The 72-year-old man was arrested under Section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Police are working to determine the exact breed of the dogs involved and are still working to find them.

Officers have been conducting house-to-house inquiries in the area and looking at any CCTV footage that might be available.

Chief Inspector Keith McLachlan, from Merseyside Police, said: 'This was a horrific attack which has resulted in a boy suffering extensive injuries to his head and body.

'I want to reassure people that he is now getting the best possible care and treatment for his injuries at Alder Hey Children's' Hospital.

'An extensive investigation is underway to establish exactly what has happened and to determine the breed of dogs involved.'

Ch Insp McLachlan appealed for anyone with information about the attack, which took place at about 5.35pm, to come forward.

He said: 'An extensive investigation is underway to establish exactly what has happened and to determine the breed of dogs involved.

'I would appeal to anyone who was in the area at the time of the incident, who may have information which could help us find the dogs or help with our investigation to come forward as soon as possible.

'This case highlights in the starkest terms the potential dangers of dogs and I would appeal to anyone with information about dangerous dogs in their area to contact us so that we can take pro-active action.'

‘Hero’ scaled fence to help boy, 11, and kept him awake by talking about his favourite footballer, Mo Salah

A hero father has revealed how he scaled a fence to help save the 11-year-old mauled by a dog after hearing screams from the park.

Gary Gaze, 47, described how he found Lewis pouring with blood and with bite marks all over his body.

He said that he had tried to keep the youngster calm by talking to him about Liverpool footballer Mo Salah.

Mr Gaze had been at a family barbecue when he rushed over to the park to help young Lewis.

Gary Gaze, 47, (pictured) rushed to help the boy who had been mauled by a dog after hearing screams coming from a park in Speke, Liverpool (above)

Mr Gaze said: 'I was at a barbecue in my girlfriend's back garden and we'd finished eating. The park is at the back where she lives.

'You hear kids screaming all the time but I thought 'that's not a normal scream, what the hell is going on?'

Mr Gaze, who himself has a young son, continued: 'I jumped up the fence and saw two dogs – pitbull types – on this lad and he was just screaming 'get them off'.

'By the time I got there, someone was trying to get hold of the dogs and the boy had climbed up on to a fence in the basketball court.

'Survivor instinct had just kicked in. The lad was traumatised, he had blood coming out of everywhere and was shaking.'

Mr Gaze (above) travelled with Lewis to hospital, where his mother was waiting for him

He explained how a police officer on the scene made the decision to take Lewis to hospital. Pictured are police on the scene this morning

He continued: 'I just cuddled him and got him to safety. He thought he was going to die - he kept saying he wanted his dad.

'I said "Mate, you are not going to die, I'm going all the way with you here."

'I just tried to distract him until police turned up. I was ringing the dad on my phone because I put his dad's number in. He just kept saying he wanted his dad so I was trying to be like a dad there for him.'

Mr Gaze, who is a ramp agent at Liverpool Airport, described how blood was pouring from Lewis.

He said: 'He had blood coming from a gaping wound on his leg and chest but the one I was most worried about was at the back of his leg, which was about three or four inches.

Mr Gaze described how he spoke to the boy about Liverpool footballer Mo Salah (above) in a bid to keep him calm

'I was trying to take his attention away from it. He kept saying 'Why did the dogs have to do that?''

Mr Gaze said a police officer made the decision to rush him to hospital because of the severity of his condition.

Not wanting to leave the boy on his own, Mr Gaze decided to ride with him to Alder Hey Hospital, where the boy's mum was waiting in a police car.

Mr Gaze added: 'It took us about 50 minutes to calm him down - I said I was going to buy him a pair of trainers.

'I could see he was shaking and trying to go to sleep, so I was trying to talk to him about football.

Mr Gaze described how he heard screams coming from the park (left) before rushing to help

'I kept talking about Mo Salah. He said he loves [Nike] 110s and I said 'Tomorrow I'm going to buy you a pair of 110s because you're a little soldier.'

'I was caked in blood because I kept wiping his face. He had scrapes all over his knees like he had been dragged.'

Once they got to hospital, Mr Gaze said Lewis' mother started screaming after seeing her son's injuries.

He said: 'His mum was already at the hospital and when she saw him she just started screaming.'

The father added that he did not know what happened to the dogs, as he had been busy trying to help Lewis.

Lewis remains at Alder Hey Children's Hospital (above) in a serious but not life-threatening condition

Other neighbours also said they heard screams coming from the park yesterday afternoon.

One, who did not wish to be named, said: 'We were in the garden when we heard screams.

'It was terrible, you knew by the sound that it wasn't just kids playing. It was a terrible shock when we found out what happened.'

The neighbour added: 'We'd been talking about dogs and how they should keep them on leads on that playing pitch.

'Quite often they will just let them loose. I think there should be a big sign telling them not to let them off the lead.'