Children topdog bite riskstatistics

And children are most at risk of attack with one in six hospital admissions for a child aged nine years or below.

Most incidents happened in West Sussex where 43 people needed treatment in the space of a year.

But East Sussex is not far behind with 36 attacks in the same period.

The figures cover the period between June 2012 and the end of May this year.

Cases involved children and adults who needed treatments including plastic and reconstructive surgery and orthopaedic care.

Ten people were injured in one incident alone at Hastings in July when two Staffordshire bull terrier cross-types ran amok in Hollington.

And in May the same year, a man was left fighting for his life after being attacked by two dogs in Brighton.

A report published by the NHS Health and Social Care Information Centre revealed there were 6,344 admissions as a result of dog bites or strikes from the 12 months to May 2013.

In the UK it is illegal to breed or own pit bull terriers, Japanese tosas, dogo argentinos and fila brazilieros as they were bred as aggressive fighting dogs.

It is also an offence for an owner to allow a dog of any breed to be dangerously out of control in a public place.

Farmers have had livestock savaged and killed by out of control dogs on land at Westfield, Rye, Fairlight and Guestling.

There was also a recent case of sheep being attacked by a dog at Military Road Rye.

The Government is now looking at bringing in tighter controls and stiffer penalties for owners who do not control their dogs properly.