A FRANTIC mother tried to fight off a German Shepherd dog as it attacked her son, biting him on the cheek.

The dog attacked six-year-old Nathan Hutchinson and left him with serious facial wounds as his mother was taking him to school.

Nathan and his mother Mrs Ann Marie Hutchinson, aged 36, was in the grounds of Plodder Lane C P School, Farnworth, when the dog attacked.

Mrs Hutchinson, of Martin Avenue, Farnworth, watched helplessly as the dog raced up to Nathan, who was about to enter a rear door of the school.

The schoolboy's mother said: "The dog came running around the corner, on a lead, but no one was with it.

"It jumped at Nathan and sank its teeth into his cheek. It all happened so fast I couldn't get to him in time to prevent it attacking."

The dog then broke off its attack and Mrs Hutchinson ran to her son and lifted him off the ground. But as she did it jumped at the boy again and grabbed his sweatshirt.

Mrs Hutchinson cradled Nathan and turned around to protect him. The dog then bit her on the back.

Teachers heard Mrs Hutchinson's screams and ran outside to help.

The dog owner is then believed to have grabbed the dog and pushed it into the back of a van.

Nathan was taken inside the school and treated by paramedics before he and his mother were taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital. They were released after treatment.

A police spokesman said the owner of the dog had been interviewed and police inquiries were continuing.