Eight-year-old girl in hospital after being mauled by bulldogs in Glasgow

A man and a woman have been charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act following the attack on the girl, named localled as Broagan McCuaig

(File photo) An eight-year-old girl in Glasgow has been mauled by two dogs, believed to be American bulldogs (WIKIMEDIA/WABACH)

An eight-year-old girl is being treated for serious facial injuries after she was mauled by two bulldogs outside her home in Glasgow.

Neighbours spoke of the screams for help from the girl, named locally as Broagan McCuaig, during the attack which lasted for six minutes, according to reports in the Sunday Mail newspaper.

The two dogs, believed to be American bulldogs, belonged to a couple who lived in the ground floor flat of the block where Broagan was playing with friends. A man, 34, and a woman, 33, have been charged for offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act, and police have taken the two animals away.

The attack occurred on Gartloch Road in Garthamlock, Glasgow, at around 5.10pm on Friday. Witnesses said they believed the dogs reacted without warning to the sudden movement of the children’s game of tag.

Broagan was “shaken like a rag doll”, neighbour and family friend Linda Moffat told the Sunday Mail.

“I was in my flat when I heard a scream and saw her being attacked by the two dogs,” Ms Moffat said. “I ran down into the back court with Broagan’s mother Tracy but there was nothing we could do.

“Broagan was shouting, ‘Help me, help me, please can you help me?’ It would break your heart. The two dogs were holding her in their jaws and shaking as if she was a rag doll.”

With the dogs’ owner unable to pull them off the girl, two passing stranger eventually ended the attack by repeatedly kicking the animals and then carrying Broagan away.

“She is a lovely girl and popular with all the other children,” neighbour Helen Edgar told the newspaper.

“She was just playing in the back court and having fun, just like any normal eight-year-old. We are all hoping and praying now that she pulls through.”

Broagan is being treated at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children, and has undergone a number of operations to treat her facial injuries. They are not thought to be life-threatening.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said inquiries into the incident were ongoing.

Local MSP Paul Martin said: “My thoughts are with the family. We have to take robust action to deal with this, and we have to give the victim all the support we can.

“It always seems to be children who find themselves in this position.”