A TODDLER is scarred for life after being savaged by a dog as he played near his home. Three-year-old Craig Wright needed major facial surgery for horrific gashes to his lip, eye and nose after the attack by a stray dog.

Surgeons have warned his devastated mother he will need more surgery on his lip, which was almost torn off.

The attack occurred at around 4.30pm last Monday as Craig was playing on a green behind his house on the Penllwyn Estate in Pontllanfraith.

His mother, Donna Wright, 22, of Islwyn Mynydd Close, said: "The dog seemed to come from nowhere - he hit Craig in the mouth with his paw and nearly ripped off his lip. "The dog then pinned him down and bit him around the nose and underneath his eye. "He came into the house screaming and he was absolutely covered in blood."

A frantic Ms Wright phoned for an ambulance. Surgeons at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport put

more than 30 stitches into his wounds. Ms Wright said: "Craig will be scarred for life on his lip but it could have been much worse.

"But at the moment he doesn't even look like my son." She added: "This was an accident waiting to happen because there are many stray dogs wandering around the estate.

"The council don't seem to be doing anything about it and I can't remember the last time I saw a dog warden around here.

"A lot of these dogs are big enough to jump over our walls so the kids are not even safe in the garden."

Sergeant Sue Locke, of Blackwood police station, said: "We received a call that a three-year-old child was bitten on the face by a big, shaggy dog.

"The injuries are quite horrific and we are going to prosecute the owner for allowing a dangerous dog to be out of control once we trace him or her."

The animal was impounded and will be destroyed. A council spokesman said: "The dog warden patrols the estate on a weekly basis to tackle the problem of stray dogs.

"It is important that owners have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control. "We will, however, always respond to calls from the public reporting any problems to us."