Boy, 13, ‘happy slapped into a coma’ in savage, unprovoked attack in school corridor
Tommy Allery, 13, was left with life-changing injuries after being repeatedly punched in the head by a classroom bully
A BOY was left fighting for his life after a vile bully punched him in the back of the head in a horror “happy slap” attack.
Tommy Allery, 13, was punched in the back of the head twice by a boy while a gang of the thug’s friends filmed.
The schoolboy attacker, 14, then vowed to “finish him off” before landing a near-fatal blow on Tommy’s temple.
Tommy, who never took his hands out of his pockets as he was attacked, walked off before collapsing from a deathly brain bleed 20 seconds later.
Shocking video footage of the attack shows the boy throw three punches in quick succession, while someone shouts “rudeboy” in the background.
All five boys who filmed the sickening attack and the bully scampered off, leaving Tommy for dead – with just one witness alerting teachers to what had happened.
Tommy’s devastated mum Clo Marques, 42, rushed to the school after receiving a call to say they had found her son on the ground by his locker, despite "staff insisting it wasn’t urgent”.
By the time Clo arrived at the school, Tommy was lying on the floor fitting and screaming “cut my head off” as four members of staff allegedly stood around doing nothing.
Horrified Clo said she was so shocked at Tommy’s state when she arrived she asked her son if he’d been taking drugs.
She told The Sun Online: “He wouldn’t tell me what had happened, so I just asked have you taken something?
“I don’t have a clue about legal highs and all that but as soon as I saw the state he was in I just thought it could have been anything.”
Tommy insisted he hadn’t taken anything and would not admit he had been punched by the boy, who had been bullying him for months, until his dad arrived shortly after.
Clo says the ambulance took more than half-an-hour to arrive as the case was marked as “non-urgent” - despite his worrying condition.
Tommy began fitting and throwing up shortly before the ambulance arrived and he was tranquillised after he had a seizure on his journey to nearby Watford General Hospital.
He was rushed for emergency surgery after CT scans showed a bleed on his brain and heavy pressure in his head.
Once he was stabilised, he was sent to Great Ormond Street Hospital's neurosurgery unit for further life-saving operations and remained in a coma for 12 days.
His dad John Allery, 48, said: "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to see.
"I just burst into tears when I saw him in the recovery room, I couldn't handle it. His mum stayed by his side the whole time, I don't know how she did it. She was so strong."
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Tommy had five more operations during his two-and-a-half month stay at the children's hospital and died twice after the final op, including once in his dad's arms.
Pub-owner John said: "I was calling his name and screaming 'Tommy, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.'
"But he couldn't respond, he couldn't talk or move, he was just lying in my arms. It was horrible."
His devastated mum moved to London to be near the Year 9 pupil while he was treated at Great Ormond Street, forcing her other son Louis, who is autistic and studying for his GCSEs, to move in with his nan.
Clo said: “It’s just affected the whole family. It's been hard on my other son too.
"We were so happy before, always doing things together, and now everything's just completely different.”
Tommy now needs physio every week and his been fitted with a shunt that drains fluid from his brain, heart and stomach, which he will need for life.
Clo said: “He’s such a little fighter to have pulled through, but he’s now a shadow of himself. He was ten and a half stone when it happened, lean and fit, when he came home from hospital he was six stone.”
He has lost his short-term memory, which could take up to two years to return and will never be able to drive, fly or play contact sports.
Clo said: “He’s f*****. I’m sorry to swear, but he is. He can’t remember if he’s had a good day, what he had for breakfast.
“I know he’ll never be the same Tommy he was. He should be out chasing girls but he’s just at home in bed all day. It’s ruined the best years of his life.”
The heartbroken mum claims the attacker was a known bully at the school, who had been picking on Tommy, and many others, for months.
The 13-year-old said he did not tell his parents about the extent of the bullying as he "didn't want to make it worse".
Clo has slammed staff at the school for their treatment of Tommy both when the attack happened and after, saying they “don’t even want Tommy back”.
She has accused them of brushing the issue under the carpet and claims they have avoided trying to help Tommy with home schooling, so he can catch up on the work he’s missed.
Clo said: “You’ve let him down once and now you’re letting him down again, who’s the victim here?”
Shockingly the horror attack has allegedly sparked a sick trend at the school in the style of “happy slapping” videos, where pupils slap one another in the back of the head as hard as they can and call it “doing a Tommy”.
Tommy's dad said: "It has really knocked whole family for six. I never thought I could reach such a low and feel our whole world has ended.
"Tommy at school was known for his caring, kind way and often stopped other children from getting involved in trouble."
He added: "I still now cannot see my son making a full recovery to the bubbly, friendly, cheeky way he was.
"I have had to stand and watch my son learn to swallow, stand, walk, balance and use the toilet again."
Clo said: “I feel like I’m grieving for my son, I’m never going to get my Tommy back.
"I've got this new Tommy, but not my old one. I miss him so much."
Tommy has said he is starting to feel stronger every day, but still has a long way to go.
He said: "I'd like to thank all the neurosurgeons who saved my life at Great Ormond Street and the fantastic nurses."
The 14-year-old attacker walked free from court, despite a judge warning him he would have “certainly” faced a custodial sentence if he was just one year older.
He showed no reaction as he was handed a 12-month referral order, the maximum the law allows.
The boy will be given a doorstep curfew, community service and has been ordered to attend victim awareness sessions, as well as meeting with an expert in brain injuries to understand the severity of his actions.
He has also been ordered to attend a drink and drug awareness course after admitting he had tried both.
His parents were made to pay £85 court fees and a £15 surcharge.
Prosecutor Jason Wolfe described the attack as “a tragic case of violence at school”, adding: “It wasn’t a fight as such, Tommy didn’t retaliate.”
Defending James Sugrue said: “[The boy] has to live with the consequences of his actions.
“He was just showing off and trying to impress his friends. He tells me it’s something he regrets thoroughly.”
As he was passed sentence the boy said: “I want to say sorry to the court and sorry to Tommy’s family.”
Clo became visibly upset during sentencing and muttered “bully, bully, bully” at one point under her breath.
Clo added after sentencing: “It’s a joke really. He’s 14 – they said if he was 15 he’d have gone to prison.
“I’m not happy, but it is what it is. He’s being given a mentor and counselling to help him, what’s Tommy got? Who’s the victim here?”
Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “A 14-year-old boy from Hemel Hempstead was charged with GBH on April 16, 2016. He appeared at Central West Herts Youth Court on May 4 where he pleaded guilty. He is currently on bail and is next due to appear on May 25.”
An earlier statement said: “Police are investigating after being called to [a school] on January 6 to a report a 13-year-old boy had been assaulted at around 3.30pm.
“The boy suffered a serious head injury and was taken to Watford General Hospital before being transferred to a London Hospital where he remains in a critical but stable condition.
“A 14-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the incident. He has been released on police bail until January 31.”
The school's headteacher said: “An altercation occurred between two year 9 boys at the end of school on the afternoon of 6 January 2016. The incident resulted in one of the students being punched and subsequently taken to hospital with a serious head injury.
“The school immediately called the police and ambulance service, accurately describing the apparent nature of the injuries to the student. At no time were the injuries either exaggerated or downplayed. The subsequent response times of the emergency services are not something it would be appropriate for us to comment on.
“The other student involved in the altercation was excluded from the school and the matter was subject to a police investigation. He no longer studies at the school.
“[Our school] is a happy and safe environment for students to study. Ofsted has praised the school for its ‘outstanding behaviour and attitudes’ and for the quality of its policies in health, security and safeguarding. The altercation in January was an isolated incident and there is no evidence that similar violent or disrespectful behaviour is prevalent in the school.”
East of England Ambulance Service said: "We received a call on 6th January at 3.37pm to reports of an incident in [Hertfordshire] to which we sent one ambulance crew. The call was coded as a 'green' serious but not life-threatening call based on the information provided by the caller.
"The green call requires an ambulance response within 30 minutes and in this case we were able to get an ambulance on scene at 4.07pm. At the scene, a teenage male was treated for a head injury before being taken to Watford General Hospital."
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