‘Destroy the dog that did this to my little boy’

Trafford-James Jackson-Poole was rushed to Sheffield Children’s Hospital after being bitten while in the Nags Head pub in Newbold Road.

He needed immediate surgery on his left cheek and suffered a fractured eye socket.

He was kept in hospital for 24 hours before being released, but he will need a further operation on January 24 to correct his damaged skin.

His mum, Gemma Jackson, 28, said the family were getting ready to leave the pub on Sunday, 30 December when Trafford-James wandered into another room and was bitten by the Akita.

“I heard a barking noise and then Trafford-James came in holding his face,” she said.

“The first thing I thought was ‘is he going to die?’ I was in complete shock.”

Doctors are hopeful that Trafford-James has not suffered nerve damage following the bite, but won’t know until the swelling on his face subsides. He was originally taken to Chesterfield Royal Hospital, but doctors there considered his injuries so serious that he needed specialist treatment at Sheffield.

“He has been quite lucky because it could have been so much worse,” said Gemma.

“It’s frightening to think what could have happened.

“Trafford-James has been very quiet since it happened and not really himself.

“He won’t go near dogs now and is scared when he hears them barking.

“The doctors say they’re hopeful that’ll he will make a good recovery but they won’t be able to say for sure for a week or two.”

Gemma, who lives in Newbold Road just a short distance from the Nags Head, said she wants to see the Akita destroyed.

“I hope it will be destroyed,” she said.

“It shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

Derbyshire Police confirmed that a child was bitten on the face in the Nags Head on Sunday 30 December and that enquiries into incident are still ongoing.

Marston’s, the brewery which owns the Nags Head, refused to comment on the incident.