A 14-year-old boy from Brighton is recovering in hospital after a police dog bit off part of his ear.

The teenager had to undergo a six-hour operation to re-attach the lobe of his right ear, bitten off after a fight in Morley Street on Saturday morning.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said the teenager fled the scene, ignoring an order by a policeman to stop.

He was pursued by the German shepherd and bitten but officers were able to recover the section of the ear and placed it in cool water.

Knives and bottles

The youth was taken by police car to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex, for the operation, which doctors said was successful.

The police spokeswoman said: "The dog will undergo Home Office tests which are standard after an incident of this type.

"The 14-year-old boy did not stop when ordered to do so. He was bitten by the dog and part of his ear was severed.

"The boy is not under arrest but we would like to talk to him in connection with the incident."

Weapons including knives and bottles were recovered from the scene of the fight.