Polish family quits England after boy attacked

BBC reporter Jessica Lane talking to the family

A mother claims she and some of her children have had to leave their Lincolnshire home and return to Poland after her son was beaten.

The woman, who has asked to remain anonymous to protect remaining relatives in England, said her 16-year-old son was assaulted by a group, at least one of whom was from his school.

She said the family was "too scared" to remain in their home of 18 years and police had "not done enough" to deal with those involved.

Lincolnshire Police denied the claims and said a suspect was detained, interviewed and the matter passed to the Justice Diversionary Panel (JDP), a collaboration between Lincolnshire Children's services and Lincolnshire Police aimed at dealing with youth offences.

Punched and kicked

The boy's mother said her son lost two teeth in the assault in February.

He claimed he was lured to a park before school where he was attacked by a gang of 10 people, who punched and kicked him.

The family said it was scared to report the matter to police and instead told Haven High Academy, which put the boy in a "dedicated safe learning zone".

The boy's mother said it was a private room for lessons that made her son feel isolated and more of a target.

He told the BBC: "When we saw [the attackers], they'd shout abuse and swear at my mum in Polish.

"I was scared to go out without my parents. I didn't have a life. I felt isolated and just wanted to stay home. [The assault] changed my life."

The family has criticised the school, which said it was "committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of every young person in our care".

A statement added: "Where the school becomes aware of incidents which take place outside of school grounds, it will do all it can to protect its students to ensure they are safe and free from fear. The school has done this on a number of occasions."

'Duly investigated'

The boy's mother was also critical of police.

She said: "The main complaint concerned the slowness of the policewoman handling the case.

"When they [police] did not provide me with an interpreter and closed the case, I threatened them with filing a complaint and they reinstated the case."

Lincolnshire Police said the family had initially signed documents to say they did not wish to make a complaint, then later requested the case be reopened.

A statement said: "Once their decision had been clarified the matter was dealt with and the incident in question was duly investigated."

The force said the complaint was then withdrawn by the family.

It added: "We have not received a formal complaint about the investigation."

The JDP was meeting on Wednesday to hear the case against the boy's attacker.

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