A BOY of 12 nearly died when his throat was ripped open by a bull mastiff.

Lee Dale spent five days fighting for his life in intensive care and needed more than 200 stitches after the attack.

The dog, which belonged to a neighbour, jumped on him as he went into a friend's garden to play.

It bit his arm before its teeth sank into the boy's neck in a vice-like grip. Lee's parents frantically pulled at the dog, trying to get it to release their son.

When they finally succeeded, Lee was unconscious and blood was pouring from his neck and arm.

Lee said: "The dog jumped up and I put my hand out and it bit the top of my arm.

"It grabbed me really tight on the arm then jumped up and grabbed me on the side of the neck and my throat, then held me down on the floor.

"I was terrified and was knocked out so I don't remember much after that.

"The doctors told me it severed my jugular and they took a vein from my leg and put it in my neck. I suppose I have been quite lucky, really, but I feel OK now."

Lee, from Wallsend, near Newcastle, was taken to North Tyneside General Hospital and was on a life support machine as his parents, Maria and Jeffrey Nelson, kept a vigil at his bedside. He was allowed home yesterday.

Mrs Nelson, 37, said: "We had to drag the dog off him and then we pulled Lee out of the garden.

"When we went to pick him up his throat and arm were hanging out and we couldn't stop the bleeding - it was like water coming out of a tap."

Lee faces a series of operations and is expected to be off school for three months.