Little girl, 9, 'scarred for life' and left needing plastic surgery after being bitten on her face in horror dog attack

A little girl has been 'scarred for life' and was left needing emergency plastic surgery after her face was bitten in a horror dog attack as she played with her friend.

Lilah, aged nine, was out with her pal from school on a playpark on Clough Street in Wardle, Rochdale, on June 7, when she was asked if wanted to hold a Border Collie that had been brought onto the park.

A few moments later her friend then picked up the dog, before it launched an attack on Lilah, biting her face and leaving the youngster covered in blood.

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After being rushed back to her friends' house across the street, emergency services were called and Lilah was taken to Manchester Children's Hospital for immediate surgery.

Her distraught mum Natalie told the Manchester Evening News that Lilah, who is now 'scarred for life' and 'scared to leave the house', then endured four hours of plastic surgery, with a doctor using 'more stitches than he could count'.

"Lilah went up to the dog that had been brought on the park and the woman with the dog asked if she wanted to hold him," Natalie said.

"They were both holding him, and as her friend was, Lilah went in to to hug the dog and it's bitten her face. A group of teenagers who were on the park, who didn't even know Lilah, heard her screaming in pain and took her back to her friend's house.

"When I got the call and was told it was her face, my heart just dropped. She was rushed to children's hospital and they had to sow her lip and nose back together. She went through four hours of plastic surgery; the doctors lost count of how many stitches they had to use."

She claims the ordeal has left her