Doctors are hoping to save the sight of a four-year-old boy left with 70 stitches in his face after he was savaged by a dog.

Curious Kristopher Hayes poked his head into the lurcher's kennel after going into a neighbour's garden.

The dog leapt at him and ripped into his face, biting him under his right eye and behind his ear.

Kristopher was yesterday being treated at an eye infirmary as doctors waited to see whether permanent damage had been done.

The youngster was saved by his father, who was nearby, and managed to drag the dog off him. Kristopher, of The Crescent, Silksworth, Sunderland, was left with severe facial injuries and was rushed to hospital for surgery.

His face was too swollen to say for certain whether any permanent damage had been done to his eye and further tests were due to be carried out. The three-year-old dog, called Alfred, is now back at home with its owner Colin Gilbertson, and no police action is being taken.

Kristopher's father, Edward, said: "Seeing my son bitten by the dog was the most horrible thing I have ever seen.

"It was a terrible shock and his face has been left an awful mess. I am just glad I was there."

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "We are taking no action against the owner of the dog. It was properly secured in its kennel and reacted to Kristopher putting his head into his kennel. We initially took the dog away to kennels but it has been allowed to go home to its owner.

"Unfortunately, Kristopher's curiosity got the better of him and he was attacked. He suffered some nasty injuries which required hospital treatment."