A brave mum who "stamped" on a dog attacking her young son and his friend in south Wales has said she dreads to think what could have happened if she hadn't been there.
Police was called to a property in Graig-y-Rhacca, Caerphilly, earlier this week after a dog lunged at the two children and left one of them with injuries that required stitches and medical care.
Chelsey Colwill, the mother of Rory, aged seven, said her son's friend Connor, aged five, was in "horrendous pain" after the incident, whilst her own son had suffered nightmares.
The dog involved in the attack has been put down, reports WalesOnline.
The distressing incident comes just days after a five-month-old baby was rushed to hospital after being attacked by a dog in Penyrheol, Caerphilly town.
Chelsey Colwill said: "It was the most awful experience I've ever had to go through. Connor and Rory are doing okay, Connor is in horrendous pain with his leg and Rory is having night terrors and night sweats.
"I can't begin to imagine what would have happened if I wasn't there and the boys were on their own - they would definitely have been much worse off.
"Something needs to be done because my child and his friend got off lightly due to me being there and stamping on the dog to get it off them - but now our kids are traumatised and we now have counselling from Gwent Police."
Ms Colwill's comments come after she took to social media to explain that when the dog "latched on" to her son's friend's hip, her "motherly instinct" kicked in.
"I can’t believe my son and his best friend just got attacked by a pit bull," Ms Colwill wrote on the evening of Monday, May 1.
"I can’t begin to imagine what would of happened if I wasn’t there to get it off them.
"He was attacking them like they were a piece of meat. Pounced on them and held them down and then latched out to [my son's] friend and wouldn’t let go.
"I was booting, stamping on him and he just wouldn’t let go, so had to drag the pair of them in the house and with the dog still attached to Connor and lock the door."
"HOW people still think these dogs are safe around our CHILDREN I’ll never know!!!!"
She continued: "My kid is too scared to leave my side and he's traumatised and Connor had to have three stitches... the pair of them are completely shaken up!
"Just think how different it would have been if nobody was there. Just think, would mine and Kylie's kid still be here? I don’t think so!! The mother instinct took over and me and my son will never be around any of them creatures again!!"
Connor's mum, Kylie Jones, said: "Luckily my friend was there or my son would have been a goner."
She said Connor has been left "in pain and scared" after the incident, and was afraid to go near other dogs. "It's hurting me, seeing him in pain," she added.