RESIDENTS have described their shock and disbelief after an eight-year-old schoolgirl was mauled by two American bulldogs.

Broagan McCuaig is being treated in Glasgow's Royal ­Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill after undergoing surgery for serious facial injuries.

Her parents are thought to be at her bedside. The child's condition was yesterday not known, although an updated bulletin is expected today.

Broagan was attacked on Friday evening by two dogs, reported to be American bulldogs, who were being walked by a neighbour.

She had been playing with friends outside her home on Gartloch Road in Garthamlock, Glasgow.

A police van was yesterday parked outside the block of flats while members of the community gathered nearby.

Neighbour James Moffat, 44, said local people were in a state of disbelief.

He said: "It is a close ­community so it is hard to believe what has happened. We can't believe it could happen to such a lovely wee lassie. It could happen to anybody, but it is horrible that two dogs can do such amount of damage to a little girl.

"Other parents feel sick at what has happened, because it could have been one of theirs.

"It is just hard to believe that something like that could happen."

The shop worker, who was at work when the incident happened, said he had heard from the family that Broagan was conscious in hospital.

The child's mother Tracy Cox, 36, and father Neil McCuaig, 39, were at her bedside and Mr Moffat said they were too distressed to talk.

He said: "She's had a few ­operations since it happened and it is progress, but not much progress. Her face and her leg have the main injuries. She's conscious and there is a wee a bit of her old self coming through, but not much."

It is understood that the dogs belonged to the residents of a ground-floor flat in the same block where Broagan and her family live.

Mr Moffat, a father of two, described them as big dogs, adding: "If he was on his back legs he would have been the height of me.

"I wasn't there when it happened, but as far as I know, one of the dogs pounced on Broagan, but when you have two dogs of that size, there is no way anybody on this earth could have controlled them."

Reports yesterday described how Broagan had been attacked by the two dogs, which bit and shook her.

Glasgow Provan Labour MSP Paul Martin said: "My thoughts are with the family. Kids should be able to live in their community without fear. We have to take robust action to deal with this, and we have to give the victim all the support we can. It always seems to be children who find themselves in this position."

Local councillor Maureen Burke said: "My thoughts are with the family. We need to get to the bottom of where these dogs were kept and how."

It was alleged the dogs' owner was unable to drag them away and Broagan was only saved when two passers-by stepped in to rescue her.

Police said they had charged a 34-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman with offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

A spokesman from Police ­Scotland said: "An eight-year-old girl has suffered serious facial injuries after being bitten by two dogs. Inquiries are continuing."

New laws governing the control of dogs came into effect in ­Scotland in early 2011. Control orders can be allowed for any dog, whereas the previous sanction that was available to the authorities was the destruction of certain dangerous breeds.