Worthing school warns parents after dog "attack"

A six-year-old pupil at Lyndhurst First School was walking out of the grounds on Wednesday afternoon following an after-school club when he was lunged at by a dog tethered to a fence in the entrance driveway.

One shocked parent told the Herald: "The dog was a black wire-haired terrier and it was tied-up on a long lead inside the school playground.

"It should not have been there.

"A little boy aged about six walked past and the dog just went for him. There were screams and the dog was biting the inside of the boy's legs and it drew blood.

"It looked terrible. The child's mother was screaming.

"Other parents were shouting and the headteacher came running out.

"The man with the dog was told in no uncertain fashion that the animal should not have been in the school grounds.

"The dog struck very quickly and there was no warning. It all happened in a second and it was like a fire-cracker going off.

"The boy was treated by the school nurse and the school was clearly taking it very seriously."

The school have played down the incident and denied the boy was badly injured.

Speaking on Thursday, a spokeswoman said: "It wasn't a serious incident. It was in the driveway of the school where a dog was tied up.

A child went near to the dog and it jumped up and barked.

"All the parents were satisfied with how it was dealt with. The child was back in school today, happy and enjoying his lessons."

Headteacher Ann Lawrenson said: "It's a good opportunity to remind all parents that they shouldn't bring dogs on to school premises to avoid incidents like this.

"It was upsetting at the time but they're all fine. We were lucky on this occasion that it wasn't serious."