Dean needed time off school after the dog attack

Kent Police said they cannot prosecute the owner of the dog that attacked 11-year-old Dean Hicks because the animal was on private property.

Dean, from Dunkirk Drive, Chatham, had a gaping wound in his side after the attack in a friend's garden.

"If you keep a Staffordshire bull terrier you have to keep that dog under restraint," said his mother Gillian.

"If you have got a dog that is going to run out of the house and attack a child you need to be capable of controlling that dog.

"It is dangerous - it shouldn't be allowed," said Mrs Hicks.

Dean needed hospital treatment and time off school while the wound healed.

He remembers the incident clearly.

Dean was left with a gaping wound in his stomach

"The dog was on my shoulders and as I managed to get it off it took a chunk out of my side," he said.

If Dean had been attacked on the street, the Dangerous Dogs act of 1991 would apply.

A criminal prosecution would be possible against the owner which might result in an order to destroy the dog.

As the attack was in a private garden, the Dogs Act of 1871 applies and it is a civil matter.

In this case, the owner of the dog had it destroyed voluntarily.

"We have paid �55 to have the dog put down and cremated," said Penelope Archer, the owner's sister.

"It was all very hard for my sister. She is distraught over this."