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ORDEAL: Kyle Lever with mum Maxine
Happy-slap fire thugs tie boy to tree
14/ 7/2005
A BOY aged 13 has described how bullies tied him to a tree and threatened to set him on fire as they filmed their attack on mobile phones.
As reported in later editions of yesterday's Manchester Evening News, Kyle Parker became the latest victim of the so-called "happy slapping" craze when a gang of eight older boys strapped his body to a tree with masking tape and bound his legs together with his school tie in woodland near Smithills High School in Bolton.
His attackers, who also put a monkey mask over his face and gagged him, then set fire to the tape as they filmed the assault on mobile phones.
Kyle, of Glaisdale Street, Tonge Moor, said the tape melted and he escaped unhurt.
He told the M.E.N.: "They were standing around and filming it. I was not scared, just annoyed. I think they did it for a laugh. I cannot think of another reason.They were just laughing."
His mother Maxine Lever, 34, who is now looking for a new school for Kyle and his brother Joshua, 14, said: "It was a miracle he escaped unhurt. He could have been burnt alive. There is nothing happy about happy slapping."
It is understood that the school is considering permanent exclusions for the youths responsible for the attack. As police were investigating the assault and examining seven seized mobile phones, headteacher Ken Howell said bullying would not be tolerated.
He said: "We felt it was serious and so we involved the police. As soon as the incident was reported to duty staff we immediately responded and started to investigate."
Disgusting
Kyle said he went to the woodland, which is out of bounds, with three friends during lunch last Friday. He said eight boys already there grabbed him and tied him to the tree.
Kyle chased one of his attackers and teachers spotted them fighting before calling police.
Maxine, a shop assistant, added: "He does not want to go back to school. He has not been happy there for some time but this is the first time he has been bullied.
"It is disgusting. He could have gone up in flames. The pupils who did this should be permanently excluded. Mobile phones are allowed in the school for emergencies as long as they are switched off. I would like the school to clamp down on their use."
So-called "happy slapping" is a craze where youths ambush often unknown victims while recording the attack on mobile phone cameras.
Although Kyle was unhurt during the 20-minute ordeal, the incident is chillingly similar to the attack on Matthew Kitchen, 41, from Little Lever, Bolton, last October. Matthew was set alight by two thugs, who were jailed for a total of 14 years in May, after he had fallen asleep in a bus shelter in Radcliffe. They filmed the attack, which left Matthew seriously burnt and scarred for life, on mobile videophones.
Greater Manchester Police said: "The 13-year-old boy has been video interviewed and officers are continuing their enquiries. As part of their investigations, officers have seized a number of mobile phones as well as other items allegedly used in the incident."
Is the happy-slap craze getting out of hand? Have your say.
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23/03/2006 at 10:01
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23/03/2006 at 14:27
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