Elsie is refusing to go to school after the horror attack (Picture: BPM Media)

A little girl is refusing to go to school because she doesn’t want her friends to see her injured after a dog viciously attacked her face.

Elsie, 5, was playing with friends outside her south London home in New Addington, Croydon, when her neighbour’s Staffordshire bull terrier pinned her down and tore at her cheek a month ago.

She had three operations afterwards and will need more in the future to reconstruct her face.

Elsie’s mum Kirsty, 29, said: ‘I can remember the feeling of panic, seeing the dog on her face. I can’t get that image out of my head.

‘There was blood everywhere and a chunk of her face was wide open. A chunk of her cheek was hanging off and you could see inside her nose through the bridge of her nose.

‘In the ambulance she was trying to fall asleep but the paramedics were talking to her to try to keep her conscious. She turned to me at one point and said, “Mummy it’s ok but I’ve got to go, I’ve got to close my eyes now.”‘

Elsie was playing with her sister Amelia, 9, and friends in a secure area in front of their block on September 25 when the dog suddenly charged towards the group.

All the children ran to a wall and climbed to safety but Elsie fell over and the dog jumped on top of her.

She had three operations afterwards and will need more in the future to reconstruct her face (Picture: BPM Media)

Kirsty, who had been watching from inside, rushed to her daughter’s aid and moved her to another neighbour’s house to stop the attack.

She said the attack only lasted a few minutes, but ‘felt like a lifetime’.

‘It’s very hard coming in and out of our home, seeing where they used to play,’ Kirsty added.

‘Every time I open the door it’s right there. I can’t look at the place where it happened, I can’t put the bins out.

‘The kids find it hard to come in and out, I have to carry Elsie and her older sister in every time.

‘It’s been catastrophic for our whole family. My partner, my kids, everyone is in counselling. We’re all just traumatised.’

Elsie pictured before the dog attack (Picture: BPM Media)

Elsie with her mum Kirsty, sister Amelia and her dad (Picture: BPM Media)

Elsie was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting where she had to undergo surgery for four hours.

Her parents have since been told she’ll be seeing a surgeon for the rest of her life.

Kirsty added: ‘She doesn’t want to go out, particularly on public transport because she doesn’t want people to stare at her.

‘She hasn’t been back to school since because she doesn’t want her friends to see her like this.’

The dog was seized by police along with another one belonging to the same owner, and they are being kept in police kennels.

A woman, 56, was interviewed under caution last Tuesday but no arrests have been made so far.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed enquiries are ongoing.

Croydon Council said it is in the process of finding a new place for Elsie and her family to live.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Elsie is refusing to go to school after the horror attack.