TWO hero boys who saved a young lad from a vicious dog attack said the animals were pulling the youngster apart.

Harry Redsull and William Hunter, both 13 and from Pitmore Road in Eastleigh, rushed to save Abil Chowdhury after two Rottweilers pinned him to the floor and bit him.

Shouting and waving their arms at the dogs, the Thornden School pupils forced the rottweilers off the terrified 12-year-old in Otterbourne.

After the attack a major police hunt involving armed officers took place last Friday to find the dangerous animals.

Harry said: "Me and William were just walking home like normal and we took a short cut through a field.

"As we went through we saw the dogs running around and tried to get the owner's phone numbers from their collars.

"We couldn't find them so we kept walking.

"We saw the two dogs and we saw a year eight boy and looked back and at first I thought they were playing with the dogs.

"Then one of them started screaming and me and William went over there and shouted at the dogs and they got off of him."

William added: "At the time we weren't scared, we didn't have time to think.

"When he was on the floor he had been really pulled apart by the dogs and when he got in the ambulance it looked like we could see the bone in his leg.

"The left side of his collar was completely red and there were some scratches.

"I was trying to get his head up when he was on the floor and he was shouting.

"We just kept shouting at the dogs to get them away because they were circling him."

One of Adil's friends called an ambulance and the boys waited with him until it came with concerned neighbours who had arrived to help.

Harry said: "It was just one of those things - you don't really think about it you just do it."

William added: "It wasn't until after that we thought that they could have turned on us."

Although they may think they did what anyone would do, the young lads' actions have been praised by their parents and teachers.

Jane Redsull, Harry's mother, said: "Me and my husband are very proud of him - it takes a lot of guts to do what they did.

"He would help anybody who needs help and I am glad he reacted the way he did."

The 47-year-old chef added: "He has handled it very maturely, it has not gone to his head it is just something he did because that is the sort of kid he is."

Jacqui Hunter, 48, said: "William did not realise how brave he was, he did not really think about what could have happened.

"We are extremely proud of him, he did not think about himself he just acted on impulse to save that little boy."

Mrs Hunter, a community nurse sister, added: "If they had not done that it could have ended very differently."  

Sue Whelan, the associate head at Thronden School said: "They were calm, they were clear and they did something that some adults would not have done.

"We have been inundated with calls and tonnes of positive comments and we are very proud of them."