A four-year-old girl bitten by a dog in a Tunbridge Wells park has undergone an operation in hospital.

The injured girl was taken to East Grinstead hospital after being bitten on the cheek by a "small and scruffy" dog in Calverley Grounds, Tunbridge Wells, on Friday May 8, at about 4pm.

Police say the dog owner - who was thin, white and about 5ft 8ins tall - did not respond when the girl's father spoke to him, but instead left the park. He was wearing a pork-pie hat, a sand-coloured bomber jacket, desert boots and khaki trousers.

Det Sgt Matt Burdekin said: "What happened was clearly very distressing for both the little girl and her parents.

"If you are a dog owner it would be better to keep your dog on a lead in a public place and if there are any doubts about the animal’s temperament use a muzzle when it is around people and other animals."

Anyone with information about this incident should call police on 01732 379217 (if possible quoting reference 6717) or Kent Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.