Credit Where Credit’s Due

Two quite different recountings of the same story:

A boy of seven suffered horrific head and eye injuries in a savage dog attack outside his school.

Jude Keir was set upon by a Staffordshire bull terrier just seconds after he left the playground with pals.

He went to pet the animal, which suddenly pinned him to the ground and attacked.

Appalling, and potentially fatal, but for the actions of two brave bystanders:

Last night, his parents said Jude could have been killed.

And they thanked hero parent Chris Hemming and a mum who managed to drag the dog off Jude.

The ‘Record’ quotes the grateful parent:

Dad Derek, 37, said: "If it had not been for them, my son could have lost his eye or been killed. We can't thank them enough."

And also the man himself:

Last night, hero dad-of-two Chris, 34, told how he and an unidentified mum fought to get the dog off the youngster.

He said: "One minute things were normal, the next I heard really savage snarling and growling. I looked over and the dog had pinned something to the ground.

"I thought it was another dog, but then I saw it was a boy and heard ear-splitting screams.

"I ran over and yanked at the lead. The dog was out of control. It was barbaric. I had to use my full strength."

He had some help, though:

Another mum who witnessed the attack said last night: "If that man and the other woman had not been there to help, that wee boy would have been killed.

"It was not going to stop."

Meamwhile, in ‘The Sun’:

Last night a spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Council confirmed the chilling attack had happened near Woodhead Primary School. She said: "A primary three pupil was attacked by a dog that was on a leash near a footpath outside the school.

"School staff responded quickly and called an ambulance which took him to hospital. His mum, who was waiting nearby, was able to travel with him."

You’d never know two members of the public had intervened, would you? If you only read the 'Sun', or the BBC report.

You could be left with the impression that it was the public sector workers who bravely threw themselves into harm’s way...