Mauled girl returns from hospital

Chloe Ashman was left with permanent damage to her voice box.

A six-year-old girl from Kent who was mauled by a dog has returned home from hospital two months after the attack.

Chloe Ashman, who lives with her mother in Stuart Street, Folkestone, has permanent damage to her voice box but has regained the use of her voice.

She was playing in her garden in June when the Staffordshire bull terrier, a family pet, attacked.

The family had feared Chloe might not speak again because of the injuries the dog inflicted on her throat.

Her mother, Stacey Ashman, fought off the dog with an iron and was also injured.

"It was a nightmare actually - something I don't like talking about really," she said. "But it was something I'll never forget. It was hard."

Chloe was well enough to return home after two operations, but still has one arm in a sling because of nerve damage and has to take blood-thinning medication to prevent a stroke.

Lee Ashman, Chloe's father, has called for tighter controls for dog owners.

Part of her voice box has been permanently damaged.

Lee Ashman, Chloe's father, said: "It will be like that forever - one side will not work but the other side will.

"But she can talk, that's the main thing, and she can sing as well."

The dog was later destroyed, although Kent Police said no offence was committed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Her father has called for tighter controls on the breed.