Prescot dog attack: Mum's horror after toddler prised from jaws – 'we're not coping'

A mum has told of the horrifying moment her three-year-old son had to be during a brutal attack that left the youngster and a two-year-old .

"We're not coping", she said, as she explained her son had been asking about the family dog who was taken away to be put down. The six-month-old , named Oakley, suddenly mauled the boys in the back garden of their home on Johnson Avenue, Prescot, at around 4pm on Thursday. The had been living with the family since it was around eight or nine weeks old, and had reportedly never shown any signs of aggression before .

The mum said she was "so thankful" to neighbours who helped to save them, adding the boys are now being treated for puncture wounds and lacerations to their arms and legs - and are having to undergo surgery to stitch up their wounds.

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She told the that the boys are expected to make a "full recovery" and have been their "normal cheeky selves" in .

The children are believed to have been playing in the garden when Oakley unexpectedly grabbed the older boy. The adults then had to prise the dog's jaws open to release the three-year-old, when the bulldog quickly grabbed the younger boy before being dragged away.

A neighbour - who declined to be named - said: “I heard screaming and I saw this little boy coming down the path. His leg had been chewed to pieces. I grabbed him and cradled him while I called an ambulance. I held onto him until the ambulance arrived.”

The mum thanked the neighbour who intervened, saying if it were not for her "I might not have a son". She added that the older boy had been asking about Oakley, who was taken away by police to be put down.

"We're not coping," she said. "Not only are we dealing with the two kids, we're also grieving for the family dog."

But she said the children were well in the aftermath of the horror attack. "They're still the same kids, they're still their same cheeky, attitude-y little selves," she said. "The way they are in themselves, you wouldn't know anything had happened, but of course it has."

Chief Inspector Phil Thompson, from , branded the attack a "shocking incident". He said: "We are in the very early stages of investigating this incident and the dog has been seized at the home, he said. Enquiries are ongoing to establish the breed of the dog and identify the owner."