## The boy, named locally as Reggie, was attacked at a house in Falkland Road at about 04:15 BST//
## He was taken to hospital where he later died// Police said the small terrier dog had been removed from the address and was likely to be destroyed//
## Northumbria Police said a 30 year old man had been arrested in connection with the incident//
## A family member, who did not want be identified, said the baby-s mother named locally as Maria Blacklin was not in the house when the youngster was attacked//
## The man said the baby-s mother never left her son alone with the dog and she was devastated by what had happened//
## A neighbour said the baby was a *lovely bairn*//
## She said: *They-re all right [the family], they-re no bother and his wife, she looks after them bairns, she was over the moon with her little boy//
## *It-s a shock more than anything else, I cannot get over it// It-s shocking//*Flowers have been laid against the front wall of the house, along with cards bearing messages of support//
## Superintendent Gillian Mitchell said: *As you can appreciate, we have concerns with regards to the care of the child at the time this incident occurred//
## *They {the family} are absolutely devastated as you would imagine, it-s tragic to lose a child at any stage, but in these circumstances it is just unbelievable//*They are receiving support.......it is a very difficult time, the officers attending the scene this morning were faced with quite a significant incident to deal with//
## *It-s a tragic isolated incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the baby and indeed our officers who have dealt with this incident//*
## Police said additional officers were in the area to provide reassurance to support the public during an *horrendous time in the community*//
## A police car remains parked directly outside the front of the property//
## Police said the family-s dog posed no threat to the wider public and is now in secure kennels//
More than 200,000 people a year are estimated to be bitten by dogs in England, according to research for the British Medical Journal//
## Since 2005, 22 people have been killed by dogs in the UK, 12 of them children, according to the Office for National Statistics//Everybody you speak to in this quiet tree lined street knows the family of little Reggie//
## His proud mum had introduced him to their neighbours in recent days//
## They also knew the family had a dog, a small terrier which they believed had a good temperament// It obviously didn-t//
## Those same neighbours have spent the afternoon leaving flowers outside the three week old baby-s home many of them in tears//
## *He was a bonny little lad*, one of them remarked//
## A relative came by to tell us the terrier dog was usually kept in a brick outhouse at night// He couldn-t understand why the dog was in the house// He also told us the dog was always well behaved around the other children in the home//
## The animal is now being kept in secure kennels while police continue their investigation// Meanwhile, a family is trying to come to terms with the loss of their new born child in such horrific circumstances//
