A 51-year-old man repeatedly thrashed at a savage dog with an axe as it dragged a screaming five-year-old child along the street in its jaws.

The boy, Justin Lyons, was playing outside his home with friends. Minutes later he was being hauled down the road at Hartley, near Gravesend, by his arm as his terrified mother tried to pull him away.

But the animal, described as a pit bull cross, was so strong it pulled both of them down the road while gripping on to the child.

Neighbours fought to free the boy but the creature attacked again before being beaten off with the axe by have-a-go hero Chris Pellant, a father of two, of Porchester Close, Hartley.

Mr Pellant and another neighbour, Donna Martin, managed to force the dog to loosen it grip, allowing Mr Pellant to lift the child to safety.

Mr Pellant said later: "I wanted to kill the dog but I was so scared of hitting the child. I knew I had to keep on and was holding the axe with both arms and thrashing it as hard as I could."

Justin was taken by ambulance to Dartford's Darent Valley Hospital in a serious condition. His parents say doctors have warned them he will require extensive plastic surgery. His arm was also broken.

Police have confirmed the dog's owners later gave consent for the animal to be destroyed.

FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK'S GRAVESEND MESSENGER AND DARTFORD MESSENGER

The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 bans people from owning vicious breeds that are known to attack – including Pit Bull Terriers.

Also included in the act are Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro.

It is an offence to own or keep any of these animals, unless it is on the Index of Exempted Dogs and in compliance with certain requirements.

It is also an offence to breed from, sell or exchange – even as a gift – such a dog.

However, in the UK, dangerous dogs are classified by type, not by breed label.

This means that whether a dog is considered dangerous, and therefore prohibited, will depend on a judgment about its physical characteristics, and whether they match the description of a prohibited 'type’.

This assessment of the physical characteristics is made by a court.