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Blyth dog attack: Several children hospitalised after being bitten in park Blyth dog attack: Several children hospitalised after being bitten in park
(about 3 hours later)
14 children have been injured after being attacked by a dog in a park in Northumberland. A woman has been arrested after 11 children were injured after being mauled by a Staffordshire bull terrier in a park in Northumberland. 
The dog bit a number of children in a park in Blyth, Northumbria, on Wednesday evening, police said. Nine children were taken to hospital after being bitten by the dog at the park in Blyth near Newcastle on Wednesday evening, police said. 
Nine children were taken to hospital, though none of the injuries were thought to be serious. One of the injured, a girl aged around seven, is understood to have needed skin grafts. 
Officers are keeping the dog in secure kennels until they can find its owner. Officers have now arrested a 37-year-old on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control. 
Sheryl Allison, whose daughter was in the park at the time, said: “The dog attacked about 14 kids, it was like a terrorist attack. There were injured kids lying all over the place, it was a warzone. The animal was caught and taken to secure kennels while attempts were made to find the owner. 
“Eventually a dad of one of the girls saw what was happening and sprinted into the park and jumped on the dog, he pinned it down until the police arrived. Fiona Richars, 33, who lives opposite the park, said her husband had helped to restrain the dog after it bit her 11-year-old daughter Isabel.
“The whole street has been traumatised by this, nothing like this has ever happened before,” she told local paper ChronicleLive.  She said: "We were indoors and she came screaming through the door saying that she had been bitten.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: "At around 6.30pm on Wednesday, police received reports of a dog that had bitten a number of children in the park next to Burns Avenue in Blyth. "She said the dog was still biting people, so we told her to stay at the door and we ran over.
"Emergency services attended and police were able to bring the animal under control. "My husband went straight in and there was already a dad in there trying to lift the kids out of harm's way.
"A number of children were taken to hospital with bite wounds but none of the injuries are thought to be serious. "The dog was running around super-fast biting every kid in there, I saw it grab a little one by the shoulder.
"Police remain in the area to reassure the local community and carry out inquiries to locate the animal's owner. "It was bedlam, they were all screaming and there were loads of kids as it's a new park."
"The dog is currently at secure kennels while officers carry out their investigation." Her husband, Brett, and another father in the park managed to back the dog into a corner and used their own lead to tie it to the railings. 
She said her daughter had suffered puncture wounds to her thigh and was given antibiotics in hospital.
One of Isabel's friends was still in hospital and needed surgery, she added.
Another parent, Sheryl Allison, described the scene as "like a terrorist attack".
"There were injured kids lying all over the place, it was a warzone.
"The whole street has been traumatised by this, nothing like this has ever happened before,” she told the local paper the Newcastle Chronicle. 
None of the victims were thought to be seriously injured though three were kept in overnight.
The spokesman said: "Extra officers are in the area speaking with people and offering reassurance."
Anyone with concerns or any information is asked to contact police on 101.
Additional reporting by PAAdditional reporting by PA