Norton dog attack: Girl, 5, badly hurt outside shop

Farrah-Leigh suffered significant injuries when she was attacked by a dog on Saturday

A five-year-old girl has suffered "significant" facial injuries after being attacked by a dog outside a shop.

Farrah-Leigh Nichol was injured near a Nisa shop in Norton Road, Norton, Stockton-on-Tees, at about 18:30 BST on Saturday, Cleveland Police said.

Family friends have set up a fundraiser to take her to Disneyland once she recovers so she has "something to look forward to".

The dog's owner has spoken to police and the animal has been seized.

The injured girl's father, Alex Nichol, said the bite happened after Farrah-Leigh asked him and the dog's owner for permission before stroking the pet gently.

He told The Sun the bite happened during a visit to the store to buy some bread: "The dog jumped and she jumped back and I thought 'that was lucky'.

"But then the next minute I saw her curled up on the floor and she said, 'Dad'.

"She was crying and all her face was off."

Plans are afoot to take Farrah-Leigh to Disneyland when she is better

More than £700 has been donated to an online fundraiser set up by Shauna Rollinson.

She told the BBC her daughter was friends with Farrah-Leigh and knew the five-year-old really wanted to visit Disneyland.

"It's something for her to look forward to," Ms Rollinson said, adding the response from people had been "absolutely amazing".

Cleveland Police said the girl suffered "significant injuries to her face" and was receiving treatment in hospital.

"The owner of the dog remained at the scene following the attack and co-operated with police," a spokeswoman said.

The dog has been seized and is being held in kennels.