THE parents of three children who were left with severe wounds after two separate dog attacks in Radcliffe are hoping to come together to improve safety in the area.

Luke Chadwick, aged 10, needed specialist care at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital after being attacked on the King George V field, off Outwood Road, on August 4.

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Then on August 16, Caitlin and Megan Costello, aged 12 and 13, both suffered leg wounds when they were attacked near their home in Knowles Street after a dog had run out from a nearby house during a burglary.

All three children are still making regular trips to hospital to treat their injuries but were hoping to go back to school this week.

Luke's mum Louise, of Ringwood Avenue, said: "I want to meet with the council, local youth clubs and other groups so that we can do something about this, whether it's installing more CCTV or whatever else needs doing.

"Even now people are still coming up to me and saying how worried they are. These incidents have really shocked people and they want to see something done about it.

"The most important thing for me now is to concentrate on my children and make sure they feel safe and happy."

Luke, who goes to Chapelfield Primary School, is recovering well but it will be several months before his arm is fully healed and the family were left so traumatised by the incident that he has only just been allowed back outside to play.

She added: "We are going back and forth from the hospital all the time. Last week they took the scabs off his arms which re-opened the wounds a bit again.

"Luke is doing pretty well. We have just let him out to play again, and I know he can't be kept locked away forever because none of this is his fault.

"He is frustrated and I know he still gets a bit anxious whenever he hears another dog, but he is doing better than I think we expected he would."

Miss Chadwick has been in touch with Caitlin and Megan's mum about campaigning for new measures to protect residents from dangerous dogs in the area.

Both girls are on antibiotics to fight infections and were waiting on further advice from doctors at Royal Bolton Hospital this week on whether they are ready to start the school year. Caitlin is a pupil at St Gabriel's RC High School, while Megan attends Broad Oak High.

Mum Wendy said: "They both have infections and have needed two rounds of antibiotics, and we are going to the hospital every few days. They are supposed to be starting back to school this week, but it's going to depend on what the hospital tell us.

"The girls are doing quite well but they are still a little bit worried when we are walking around the area. We have walk the back way around our street because they don't want to go where they were attacked.

"People are still worried about dangerous dogs around here, and I hope it's something that doesn't get forgotten. Something needs to be done to stop it from happening again."