An XL Bully has mauled an 11-year-old schoolboy in a terrifying attack.

Theo Hughes was bitten by the mutt outside a house in Newport, Wales, while trying to protect his younger siblings.

He was walking with his family outside St Michael's Church in Pillgwenlly just before midday on June 30 when the attack took place.

They had noticed an XL Bully outside a nearby house, but decided to wait for it to go back inside before walking past.

The dog had other ideas however and came running back out towards them.

That's when the 11-year-old tried to distract the animal as he knew his two younger siblings, Frankie, nine, and Susie, seven, were scared.

He said: “Because I know my brother and sister are petrified of dogs, I thought I would distract the dog away."

Unfortunately for brave Theo however, he tripped over when trying to outrun the dog.

He added: “They were all behind me so I just ran to the left, went around a car, but then fell over. It latched on to the back of my leg.

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“When a big dog like that’s chasing you it’s not very nice.”

The dog's bite managed to cause puncture wounds and a deep cut on Theo's thigh before eventually being pulled away by its owner.

Theo's father Michael, 43, did not witness the attack but quickly rushed to the scene.

He said: "If the owner wasn’t there or if it was a smaller child, it could have been really bad."

He added that he and his wife Tina were both "angry and scared" with the situation.

Theo was taken to the hospital, where he was not able to sit down because of his injuries, but was very grateful to the staff who were "really good".

The 11-year-old has since been on the mend and will be getting his stitches taken out today, hoping that he can return to playing rugby and football soon.

A statement from Gwent Police read: “An 11-year-old boy was taken to hospital for treatment, his injuries are not life-threatening."

It added that a “registered XL bully dog was surrendered to officers by the owner”, in order to be put down.

Owning an XL Bully in Wales is not illegal, but owners must be registered.