POLICE have launched an investigation after an 18-year-old dental nurse was mauled by a police dog as she walked home after a night out.

Chelsea Birkenhead had 24 stitches in her left arm after she was attacked by the German shepherd in Stoneycroft.

Although the matter was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission,

they have said the inquiry can be managed “internally” by Merseyside police.

The dog, which was not on a lead, pounced on the Dovecot teenager as she walked along Albany Road to a friend’s house early on Saturday morning.

Ms Birkenhead said: “We came out of the pub at about midnight and were walking down the road to a friend’s house.

“There is a pathway which you can use to cut through. But as we went to walk down a policeman came running out with a dog and shouted at us to stop.

“I stopped straight away but the dog ran over to my friend and jumped at him. Then it turned on me.

“It had my arm in its mouth and wouldn’t let go. The policeman was shouting at it, but it wouldn’t let go. I was hysterical.”

She was taken to a nearby house and then to the Royal Liverpool Hospital where she had an operation to assess the extent of the damage.

A police spokesman said: “This is a regrettable incident.”