A Margate mum has spoken out after a terrifying ordeal that saw her baby girl attacked by an out-of-control dog as she sat in her pram.

Claire Lewis was taking 22-month-old Harleigh-Jade for a walk in Margate High Street when the dog ran up to them and bit the youngster on the hand, injuring her fingers.

Instead of stopping, the suspected owner of the dog, who had a second animal on a lead, continued towards the seafront.

Scroll down for video

Claire, 29, said: “I was walking up the high street pushing my daughter in her buggy, a guy walked in front of me with two staffies.

“We were going a little bit slower but as we walked up the high street he was standing outside of the newsagents and that’s when he started shouting ‘Someone grab my dog, it’s mental’.

“There was a guy in front of me who tried to grab the dog but he couldn’t hold it, it was manic.

“I tried to move the buggy away but, the dog went into the buggy and came up onto it.

VIDEO: Mum speaks out after dog attack

“The footplate that Harleigh’s legs were sitting on had been pushed up so far that her legs were by her shoulders. My first thought was ‘oh my god, her feet and legs are broken’.

“Luckily they weren’t, but she was screaming uncontrollably.

“The dog flew off and the man was still chasing after him, he didn’t stop.

“I checked her over, she was screaming and crying.

“Her fingers were swollen and bleeding and there was skin hanging off.

“I phoned my partner to ask what I should do, I tried to clean her hands up as much as I could. He came and took her to hospital while I was on the phone to the police and collecting my other children from school.

“I didn’t know for sure if the dog had bitten her or scratched her or anything because it happened so quickly but the nurse said her fingers had definitely been bitten and there were two puncture wounds.

“They cleaned it up and put a dressing around it and then gave her antibiotics.

“I’m just hoping that the guy comes forward, I don’t think it was the dog’s fault because I think the dog was more scared than anything else but the man should have had it under control.

“She wakes up in the night shaking and crying so I don’t know whether she is dreaming about it too. She used to be so excited when she saw dogs, and her first word was ‘dog’, but she is petrified now." - Claire Lewis

“We just want some justice; he should have stopped at least to make sure she was okay. I don’t think he should have just run off.

“It has put my anxiety on edge, I didn’t go out for the rest of the week.

“Since it happened she has been so clingy and really ill with the antibiotics. She will not let anyone touch her finger, she is still very aware. The nurses said she was really lucky because it didn’t damage any of the tendons.

“She wakes up in the night shaking and crying so I don’t know whether she is dreaming about it too. She used to be so excited when she saw dogs, and her first word was ‘dog’, but she is petrified now.

“I think the dog should have had a muzzle on and have some specialist training or someone who at least knows how to handle them, I really do think it was the owners fault.

“The more I think about it the angrier I get at the guy because he should’ve stopped. He obviously knew because he saw it happen, he heard her screaming and saw me tending to her but just carried on running. I think that‘s the worst part. If you are a responsible dog owner you would stop.”

Police have also released CCTV images of a man wanted in connection with the attack.

The attack happened at 2.15pm on Monday, January 4.

The dog is said to be a Staffordshire bull terrier and was white with gingery-brown patches.

Officers have released an image of a man they would like to identify in connection with the attack.

Anyone with information is urged to call police on 01843 222289 quoting ZY/0494/16.