Five-Year-Old Girl Left Scarred For Life After Stranger's Dog Attacked Her

Ms Beresford said: "It was absolutely horrendous. It was awful. My daughter gets called 'scar face'. She says, 'mummy am I still beautiful?'''

The incident occurred when Molly, her mum, and her father Lee went to pick up a set of bunk beds from a house in Chipping Camden after spotting them on the internet.

She didn't know that there was a dog in the house until the attack happened.

Ms Beresford continued: 'The room was a box room, there was not much space. She [the seller] said, 'I'll take Molly downstairs to get a drink.'''

"It was safe as far as me and Lee were concerned.

"She left Molly unattended.

Then, a couple of minutes later she heard a scream and ran downstairs to see that 'Molly had had her face ripped off by a dog'.

Ms Beresford says that then Marsh was reluctant to call for an ambulance, despite her pleas.

She added: "Four or five times I asked her to phone the ambulance. I had to scream at her.

"I wasn't going to prosecute or anything like that. But then the surgeon who treated Molly said, 'This is a dangerous dog. You need to prosecute.'"

After the guilty verdict, the dog must now be kept under control and wear a muzzle in public places. It is also not to be left alone with anyone under the age of 17.

Marsh was also fined £775 ($994) with a surcharge of £85 ($108) and must perform 60 hours of unpaid work over the next 12 months.

Ms Beresford said: "We were kind enough to let her keep the dog. I just want to make other people aware.

"I have got two dogs and Molly is fine with them and with family members' dogs, but if we see strangers' dogs out in public she'll cling to me like a leech.

"But other than that she is coping really well. We are lucky because that dog could have taken her life that night. Even though she is scarred we are lucky."