Girl, 4, bitten by dog on cheek

Gracie Jackson-Matthew needed surgery after the attack

A four-year-old girl needed an operation after being bitten on the face by a dog in a Kent park.

Gracie Jackson-Matthew of Tunbridge Wells was attacked while playing in the town's Calverley Grounds on Friday.

Police said the dog was not on a lead and his owner did not respond when Gracie's father spoke to him about the attack. The man then left the park.

A Kent Police spokesman said it had been a "very distressing incident" and urged the dog's owner to contact them.

Officers said the owner of the "small and scruffy-looking dog" was white, 5ft 8in (1.7m) tall and of thin build.

He had been wearing khaki trousers, a sand-coloured bomber jacket, desert boots and a pork-pie hat.

Det Sgt Matt Burdekin said it would be better for dog owners to keep their pets on a lead in a public place.

"If there are any doubts about the animal's temperament, use a muzzle when it is around people and other animals," he added.

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Gracie Jackson-Matthew was playing in the park when the dog bit her