THIS is the horrifying moment a schoolboy is pinned to the ground and savaged by a “pitbull-type” dog as the owner battles to pull the hound off.
Disturbing footage showed how Abdul Waheed Akhtar, 14, desperately fought the muscular canine as it tore into him on Monday.
He was then rushed to hospital with nasty puncture marks and blood pouring from his arms.
He has since undergone surgery to his limbs.
Abdul's dad, Nadeem Akhtar, 45, said the lad was in Queens Park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, with relatives when a couple began throwing a stick for the black dog.
When the pair tossed the piece of wood towards the family, the dog ran at Waheed and dragged him to the floor.
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He only escaped further injury when a woman - believed to be one of the dog's owners - managed to pull it off him as he struggled on the ground.
Nadeem said his son had regularly burst into tears following the traumatising incident and now struggled to sleep properly.
The dad-of-six, a taxi driver, said: "The other kids were crying, there was blood everywhere.
"It was awful, my son was shaking with fear because he had to fight with the dog.
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"He had an operation on Wednesday, he's still in the hospital.
"But he doesn't sleep, he doesn't want to go outside. He's just crying all the time. When he sees me and his mum, he's just crying all the time.
"He's been really affected by this. He says he doesn't want to go to school, he just wants to stay in."
Nadeem said he was at work when the incident unfolded as Abdul and his cousins were enjoying the mild autumn weather in the park near his home.
But their peace was disturbed when the man and woman with the dog then began to head in their direction.
He said: "I was working at the time, I'm a taxi driver. My son was playing in the park with his cousins. There were three or four lads.
"They said they were just standing in the park and the couple came with the dog, and they were throwing a stick to the dog, it was running around and grabbing that.
"Then they threw the stick, a long stick, towards them. The dog ran towards them and his friends ran off.
"The dog grabbed him in the back and he fell on the floor, and the dog jumped on him. It was biting everywhere, but the main injuries were to his arms."
Disturbing photos taken after Abdul reached the hospital showed how he was left with a deep puncture wound on the side of his left arm.
Nadeem said doctors want to keep his son under supervision for the rest of the week.
And he worries for the safety of other children who play in the usually family-friendly park.
He said: "A lot of kids play in that park, so I'm worried it could happen again.
"I don't want other people's kids to be shaking and crying after being attacked."
Greater Manchester Police said they are currently hunting the dog and its owner and have spoken to Adbul about his experience.
A spokesperson said: "There is an active investigation ongoing and work is being undertook to locate the dog and its owner/s.
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"The incident happened at 3.50pm on Monday 28 October 2024 on Park Lodge, Bolton.
"We attended the hospital and took a statement from the victim the same day the incident took place and an officer has been assigned the case and is working through it."