A mum has spoken of her devastation after her 11-year-old son had his finger amputated after an alleged incident with school bullies.
Shantal Bailey says that her son Raheem was left 'screaming in pain' after catching his finger on railings at Abertillery Learning Community.
He was allegedly trying to escape an attack when the injury happened at break time, with the finger so badly damaged that doctors were left with no choice but to amputate.
His mum claims Raheem has been subjected to racial and physical abuse since starting at the school in September 2021, but she wasn't aware how bad the situation was until he phoned in tears on Monday.
Following the horror incident, he heartbreakingly asked her why it had happened and why people didn't like him, according to Wales Online.
"He had mentioned a few incidents of people being 'mean to him' recently, I did not realise the extent of what he was going through until an incident this week," she says.
"On Monday, Raheem called me in tears whilst I was at work, saying that he’s being bullied but that he was the one who was threatened with detention despite him being the one that’s getting picked on."
Mother-of-four Shantal says she went to the school to discuss what had happened and was "reassured that everything would be handled". But on Tuesday, she got another call from Raheem who was "screaming in pain".
She claims: "On Tuesday morning break time, Raheem was attacked and beaten by a group of children whilst in school. He was pushed to the ground and then repeatedly kicked.
"He made a desperate attempt to leave the school grounds in order to escape the situation but caught his finger. I received a phone call from Raheem and then the school informing me of the incident.
"The school told me that the ambulance wouldn’t arrive for two hours, but advised me not to drive Raheem to A&E myself. Raheem, his baby brother and I were taken to a minor injuries unit by the school bus, despite them knowing that his injury was severe.
"We spent the next five hours waiting for an ambulance to transfer us to the location where he would undergo surgery, in Swansea, 50 miles away from his home and school.
"As time rolled on, it became more apparent that the possibility my son was going to lose his finger was a real one. The doctors then confirmed this was likely. I had to explain this to him while he sat there in agony."
Raheem had to undergo six hours of surgery to try and save his finger, but it was not successful and had to be amputated.
Shantal says: "He is back home and in a lot of pain. I think he is still suffering from shock because he keeps asking why it has happened to him and asking why people don't like him.
"We have still not seen his hand because it is all bandaged up, but it is going to take some time for him to get used to it. I am extremely upset because from the day of the incident until now, the school has not reached out to me to check on his well-being."
A spokeswoman for Abertillery Learning Community said: “We are currently working closely with Gwent Police and the Local Authority to establish the full details of the incident.
"The well-being and safety of our pupils and staff remains of paramount importance. We will not be commenting further at this time.”
Gwent Police confirmed it is investigating the incident, after receiving a report on Wednesday (May 18).
A spokesperson for the force said: “We received a report of an incident at a school in Abertillery around 1pm on Wednesday, where an 11-year-old boy was injured.
"A multi-agency meeting has taken place and we’re working with the school as part of our ongoing enquires.”
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