A 10-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being savaged by a dog while he was out playing rugby with his younger brother.

Oliver Williams, 10, was playing with his brother, six, in a field near his grandfather Philip Oakley's home in Rhymney, south Wales on Sunday.

Suddenly a dog came running towards him and attacked the terrified youngster.

The pet wouldn't let go of Oliver leaving him with horrific wounds to his arms and buttocks.

His grandfather, 59, desperately fought to get the dog off his grandson by punching it, leaving him with fractured wrists.

It was only when the family dog intervened and managed to distract the animal, believed to be a pit bull breed, that Oliver could escape.

The dog's owner is being investigated by police, who are calling on witnesses to come forward.

Oliver Williams, 10 (pictured in his football kit left and in hospital on Sunday right) was playing with his younger brother when he was attacked by a dog in Rhymney, south Wales

His grandfather Philip Oakley, 59, punched the dog in a bid to get it off his grandson, but sustained fractured wrists (pictured)

Oliver's father Nathan said of the terrifying incident: 'He was playing rugby when all of a sudden a dog attacked him and wouldn't let go.

'Their grandfather tried to intervene and started punching the dog. His dog jumped in and started distracting it.

'Oliver grabbed his little brother and ran to their house around the corner.

'The dog was fighting the other dog but left it and ran after the boys.

'They ran through the door screaming. My wife ran outside and tried to push it and was screaming. She used a bin as a shield.

'The dog then saw a man across the road with his dog and it went to attack it but he threw his dog over the wall.'

The pet wouldn't let go of Oliver leaving him with horrific wounds to his arms and buttocks (wounds pictured)

Mr Williams said he was told the dog appeared to be a pit bull breed of dog.

Oliver, from Rhymney, spent two days at the Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil after needing treatment for cuts on his buttocks and arms.

He was also bitten on his shoulder and has now been left terrified.

'He didn't want to come home from hospital,' Nathan said.

'He heard they still haven't caught the dog. His six-year-old brother is very shaken up.'

A spokesman for Gwent Police said: 'At approximately 3.25pm on Sunday, November 18, 2018, we received reports that a boy had been bitten by a dog in Rhymney.

'Officers have spoken with the dog's owner, and investigations are ongoing.

'Anyone with information is asked to contact Gwent Police on 101, quoting log 304 of 18/11/18.'