Birmingham dog attack victim feared for schoolchildren

A man bitten four times when two dogs got loose near a school in Birmingham says he feared for the children there.

Simon Edge was one of six people treated for injuries. He said the attacks were "totally unprovoked" and described the dogs as "feral".

Barford primary pupils were kept inside for an hour at the end of the school day until the animals were caught.

Mr Edge said when he had got to hospital he had met a "young girl" who had been bitten 17 times.

The delivery driver said: "She got the worst of it."

He said he had been bitten four times after leaving the dentist and said he had not seen the dogs before.

Mr Edge called the police because he was worried about children at the nearby school and added: "Attacking an adult is one thing, but my main concern was 'what would it have been like if it had happened to a child'? I shudder to think."

West Midlands Police said its officers were called to Willow Gardens in the Winson Green area at about 14:30 BST on Tuesday following reports two dogs were loose and attacking people.

Dog handlers and armed officers attended and brought the dogs under control without firing weapons, the force said.

Police added an elderly man was taken to hospital with bite injuries and five other people went to hospital. All have since been discharged.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a dog dangerously out of control and remained in custody on Wednesday.

Police confirmed the dogs were not from a banned breed and were taken to kennels to undergo an assessment.

The school, in Barford Road, Winson Green, went into lockdown just as pupils were due to leave for the day and children were kept in the school hall until it was safe for them to leave.

Parents and carers were sent a text alerting them to reports of "potentially very dangerous dogs circling the school".

It read: "The likelihood is that the dogs will kill a human."

Parents who arrived at the school to pick up their children were advised to remain in their cars.

The children were released into the care of their parents and guardians shortly before 16:00.

One mother told BBC WM she was grateful to the school for keeping her children safe.

"I live locally enough it gave me enough information to not leave my own house as well," she said.

"It just makes me proud to know that they were able to do the best job they could, even after the designated times that they look after our children," she added.

West Midlands Police said none of the people bitten had suffered life-threatening injuries.

According to figures released in response to a Freedom of Information request, the force recorded 1,149 crimes involving dangerous dogs last year.

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