27 April 2023 , 10:41
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A mum has hit out after seeing footage of a gang of bullies attacking and abusing her son in a park.
Sharon said she had no idea her son had been subjected to it until another parent sent her a video of it happening.
The mum said her 11-year-old son was attacked on April 16 in Chorley, Lancashire.
Sharon said her son "isn't a small boy, but believes the attackers are still in primary school.
She also said she wasn't aware of the attack that happened to her son, until another parent sent her the videos, saying she was "absolutely heartbroken" to watch them.
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This is the moment a gang of bullies attacked an 11-year-old boy (Lancashire Live)
The boy was pushed over the railings (Lancashire Live)In the footage, a boy is confronted by at least three girls with one yelling "come on" over and over again.
The individual filming could be heard laughing as the boy was pushed backwards causing him to fall over the railings.
In another clip, the group of seven kids continues to tease and bully the boy, who does not react.
She told LancashireLive: "I didn’t even know it had happened until a parent who lives near the park sent me the videos. I was absolutely heartbroken watching it.
"I was heartbroken my son went through all that alone. He did so well not to hit out, he just stood there and took it all - absolutely heartbroken."
The boy's mum says she was horrified to see the video of the attack (Lancashire Live)
At least seven children attacked the boy (Lancashire Live)Sharon puts some of the blame onto the parents of the children that harassed her child, saying it "wouldn't have happened" if some responsibility was taken.
She added: "The parents are not taking responsibility for their children’s actions,
"They are either ignoring what happened or saying their child did nothing wrong while getting their friends to threaten me via messages.
"This wouldn’t have gotten this far if the parents took responsibility for their children and stopped them from continuing to bully different children.
One of the children was filmed pushing the boy (Lancashire Live)"The number of messages I’ve received from other parents in my area that have had the same sort of dealings with the same gang - to the point their children won’t play out anymore."
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The children involved in the harassment of Sharon's son and the videoing of the incident are believed to be aged between 10 and 13, and attend several schools nearby.
Sharon said her 11-year-old, who attends a different school in the town, "didn't do anything to provoke or cause this to happen".
The mum-of-three said she received the video showing the abuse whilst at work.
She said: "I was at work, my friend messaged me as she received a message from her cousin who lives near the park, telling her he had been bullied.
"Obviously, I didn't know to what extent. I tried to phone his dad, but he didn't answer as he was with our young girls at home."
At this point, Sharon phoned her son instead, asking if he was OK and telling him to go home.
When they both returned to their house, Sharon asked him what had happened, but was met with a shrug, meaning she was non-the-wiser until she received the video evidence. After watching it, Sharon asked her son about the incident, who was "humiliated by the whole thing".
She added: "He told me he was playing in the park with his friend, when they came over to him and started pushing him around. His friend took a step back, which is understandable as there was seven of them, although you only see the girls in the video.
"They threatened to beat him up unless he came home to steal money off us so they could all buy e-cigs. My son said he wouldn’t steal from us, that’s when they started to provoke him into hitting one of the girls.
"He wouldn’t hit out, he tried to walk away. They wouldn’t let him, so they then started filming the attack."
Sharon said the whole ordeal left her son not wanting to go out, despite previously going out "pretty much every weekend".
"He doesn’t want to play out any time soon," she continued. "This has definitely damaged him mentally and emotionally. He's upstairs the majority of the time.
"We think with them screaming and swearing in his face like they did, they wanted him to hit out for the camera, but it didn’t work out that way. My boy knows right from wrong.
"He went out pretty much every weekend and the odd day after school. He's not even mentioned wanting to play out since this happened, nor even mentioned playing in the garden with his sisters."
A spokesperson for Lancashire Constabulary told the Mirror: "This incident is being investigated by an officer who has documented plans to have the people involved spoken to. Support from Early Intervention will be put in place.
"Local NPT are aware and will continue to patrol the area and local parks as part of ongoing reassurance and anti-social behaviour patrols."