THE mum of a seven-year-old boy who was mauled by a dog outside his home says he will be left traumatised by the incident.

Teddy Tyrrell, of Clayton Road, Dovercourt, was playing in his road with his friend Taylor Udual when he was attacked by a Siberian husky.

Teddy’s mum Natalie McMillan claimed the owner of the dog invited the two children to pet it - while it was on a lead - before it lunged at Teddy’s face.

The husky latched onto Teddy, leaving him badly wounded with gashes on the left side of his head, a swollen eye and bleeding hand.

He ran over the road to knock on his front door screaming for his mum.

Natalie said: “It was traumatising and I was absolutely devastated for him.

“The first thing he asked me when he got home from hospital was: ‘Will I be ugly now?’.

“It was just heartbreaking.

“The doctors did a fantastic job and they said there will be scarring but it will be minor.

“He had to have stitches on his face and eight stitches on his hand following the attack.

“He should recover but it is the psychological damage which will have a long lasting impact on my son.”

Echo:

Once he was inside with his mum, a neighbour called the East of England Ambulance Service and Essex Police.

After paramedics arrived Teddy was taken to Broomfield Hospital, where he needed surgery on his face and right hand.

Teddy had to undergo surgery last Thursday and was able to come home that evening.

The dog attack happened the previous day at about 5pm.

The footage of the attack was captured on a neighbour’s CCTV camera, seen by Natalie.

Natalie has thanked Teddy's friend Taylor, seven, who attends Two Village School, in Ramsey, for trying to pull the dog off during the gruesome ordeal.

“She is very brave and if it was not for her actions it would have been a lot worse for my son,” Natalie added.

“She was luckily not badly hurt when pulling the dog away, and only suffered a graze to her knee.”

Natalie is now urging parents to tell their children not to approach dogs, even if the owner is encouraging it.