A teenager has a pack of frozen peas to thank after being savaged by his pet dog.

Sam Betts, 17, from Chatham, had to be airlifted to a hospital in Essex after the frenzied weekend attack.

He had been trying to put a lead on Blade, a previously docile Staffordshire bull terrier, when it jumped up and clamped its jaw onto his mouth.

The dog tore off a chunk of Sam’s lip but, thanks to the quick thinking of his mother, Lisa, surgeons were able to operate.

Listen to Sam Betts and his mother Lisa here >>>

Sam's mother Lisa said: “I managed to find the bit of lip on the stairs, I picked it up and thought I’d put it in a packet of frozen peas, as I’d seen that sort of thing on Holby City, so I knew what to do.”

The dog has since been destroyed.

See Friday's print edition of the Medway Messenger for full report