Two children, aged 4 and 6, were rushed to the hospital after being attacked by four dogs in south London. The distressing incident occurred on Mickleham Road in St Paul’s Cray, Orpington. A neighbour intervened and pulled the dogs off the two young victims before alerting the police to the harrowing scene.
The victims, along with a 30-year-old woman, sustained injuries in the attack. Fortunately, their injuries were deemed to be non-life-threatening. The quick actions of the neighbour, McArthur Okorocha, who witnessed the dogs attacking the children, were instrumental in preventing further harm. Okorocha recounted the intense moment, stating, “I saw the dogs biting the girl, so I had to rush over there and separate the girl from the dog when I noticed there was another little boy…who the dogs were also biting.”
He continued, “So, I grabbed the first girl and I held her and I tried to grab the second boy, then the dogs tried to attack me so I had to separate the little girl [from the dogs] and call 999. I got neighbours to call the police. The goal was just to get the kids out of there, that was the main goal.”
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that a woman has been arrested on suspicion of having dogs dangerously out of control and has been taken into custody for further questioning. The four dogs involved in the incident were identified as being of a Mastiff-type breed.
Superintendent Mitch Carr from the South Area Basic Command Unit acknowledged the concern caused by the incident, particularly due to the young age of the children involved. He reassured the public that none of the injuries were life-threatening. Additional police presence will be provided in the area to ensure community reassurance.
This incident follows another dog attack where a six-year-old girl was bitten by a Japanese Akita dog, resulting in her hospitalisation in West Sussex. The attack took place in Strand Parade, The Boulevard, Durrington, Worthing. A 53-year-old woman from Worthing has been arrested in connection with the incident on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury.