A COURIER is to undergo surgery to have his nose rebuilt after it was bitten off by a Great Dane.

Stephen McQuiggin, 54, will have another operation by a plastic surgeon this morning following the horrific attack.

He was delivering a parcel when a family pet, Jess, bit his face in Flodden Close, Chester-le-Street, on September 7.

Mr McQuiggin, a former teacher, of Hambleton Avenue, Chester-le-Street, said: “I didn’t have time to move my head away or protect my face.

It was absolutely horrendous and the pain was excruciating, like being hit with a sledgehammer.

“The whole end of my nose was removed from my face.

We don’t know what happened to it.

“Thank God it was not a young child or a paper boy or girl they would have had no chance. It would have killed them.”

Mr McQuiggin, who taught law, maths and computing at the former Cleveland College, in Redcar, was in hospital for two weeks and has to go everyday to have his dressings changed. He has had part of his scalp and forehead removed to create a new nose.

Mr McQuiggan, a stepfather and father of nine, said: “The surgeon has been second to none and I am over the moon with what he has done.

“He assures me that in six months time I will have a nose that is really decent and the scarring will be kept to a minimum.

“It is a long journey but I am determined to get there.”

The owners of the dog were unavailable for comment yesterday.

A spokesman for Durham Police said the matter had been reported to them and an investigation had been carried out.

A file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service, which will determine whether criminal charges are appropriate.

The dog is being kept at secure kennels out of the region until any proceedings have come to a conclusion.

Mr McQuiggin added: “I am a dog lover but now I do not know how to handle them now. I am absolutely terrified.

“I am stunned that the owners have not had the dog put down. I am shocked it is still alive.”