A TODDLER has been left scarred for life after being mauled by a Staffordshire bull terrier.

Three-year-old Lucas Simpson needed eight stitches after he was bitten in the face at his home in the Hollins Grove area of Darwen.

The dog, which belonged to a friend of the toddler’s mum, was destroyed after the attack.

Another friend who witnessed the incident said that Lucas ‘was thrown around like a rag doll’ by the dog, which was called Blue.

And his mum, Alison Henderson, warned other people to be wary about allowing the breed into their homes.

Paramedics were called to the house at 7.07pm on Tuesday after the attack.

Police were alerted and when the emergency services arrived the dog had been muzzled by family members and was in the back yard.

Miss Henderson, 34, said the dog, which was two, had only been bought a week ago and a muzzle was kept on it at all times because it was around Lucas and his 12-year-old sister Jamie-Leigh Jones.

She said: “Lucas cried for about 25 minutes. He was shaking so much his knees were knocking together.

“An ambulance rushed him to hospital and he’s had eight stitches in his face.

“The doctors have told me that he will be scarred for life, but at this point they can’t tell if if will be a big scar or a small scar.

“I want to warn people that if they get a second-hand dog, then they must check out its history.

"They need to know whether it is good around children.

“But we couldn’t have been more careful - it had its muzzle on for 99 per cent of the time.

“But you never know how a dog will react - he looked so timid and beautiful.”

Ashleigh Williams, 18, who also lives at the house, said that the dog went for Lucas without warning.

He said: “We had taken the muzzle off the dog so that it could eat, but it had managed to sneak out of the kitchen and come into the living room, by the wall where Lucas always fed it.

“Lucas happened to be stood there and shouted Blue’s name, and all of a sudden the dog went over and went for him.

“It was bad, Lucas was being thrown around like a rag doll.

“He clawed his ears and bit his face.”

The dog was seized by police officers and taken to Greenbank police station. It was not an illegal breed but the decision has been taken to have the animal put down.

Owner of the dog, TJ Malik, 20, said: “I just don’t know what to think.

“But as long as the kid is ok, that’s all that matters.”

Sgt Tim Brown, of Darwen police, said: "This was a very unfortunate and nasty thing to happen to the boy but it was an accident.

"There is nothing to suggest that the dog had ever been aggressive before.

"Luckily the boy's injuries are not that severe and require surgery because they are on his face.

"Sadly, dog attacks tend to take place on small children because they are on a similar height level to them."