Boy, 12, beaten on camera after months of bullying ‘over mum’s and stepmum’s deaths’ and ‘for being ginger’
A group of cruel children gathered around to film as Toby was beaten and pinned to the floor for 'sitting on another lad's bike'
A DAD has told how his son's suffering at the hands of a bully was made "way worse" because the brutal attack was filmed and shared on social media.
Simon McManus revealed how Toby, 12, continued to be "humiliated" as a video of the assault was posted on Snapchat by his attackers.
The dad-of-two said: "It was the fact it was filmed that was the worst part for me.
"All his mates, everyone who saw him or knew him would have seen the video and come Monday he would have got all sorts of abuse from people, laughing and picking on him. That was the worst part."
Simon has spoken out as part of The Sun's Block The Bullying campaign, in conjunction with the .
Block The Bullying aims to educate young people about why filming and sharing attacks on social media can be just as damaging to a child as the actual physical assault.
We are also telling teens what to do if they see a bullying video on social media, how parents should react if their child is a victim and we are asking readers to .
Finally we are calling on social media channels to take down any videos showing the bullying of children as soon as they become aware of them.
We have pledged not to publish any more videos of children being bullied, unless we have express permission from the family or police.
Simon asked us to share one still image from the footage of Toby's attack, to highlight the violence his son was subjected to, but we will not be showing the video.
The graphic footage showed how Toby was set upon by a gang of thugs who battered him with his own scooter at a local park earlier this year.
A group of children gathered round to film as he was beaten and pinned to the floor for "sitting on another lad's bike".
Kind Toby had let one youngster have a go on his scooter at their local skate park - but it was then used as a weapon against him
Toby's dad said the attack came after years of bullying, by kids who who targeted him "for being ginger".
He even says some children picked on his son after his mum and stepmum died within months of one another last year.
He said: "Toby's mother died just before Christmas last year and he had some issues after that. There were some people saying horrible things, it made him an easy target.
"He's always been bullied because of his hair, but that wears a bit thin now. It was horrible when people were saying things about his mum, they were really close and he Toby was very protective of her - as any boy is with his mum. He would get really upset when people said things, I had to go down to the school to sort it out in the end, and it did stop."
The youngster was "too embarrassed" to tell his dad about the filmed attack - meaning Simon actually found out about it when a video began circulating on Snapchat.
The aims of the campaign are simple:
Firstly: We call on all social media platforms to remove videos of children being physically bullied by other young people as soon as they come to their attention.
Secondly: We are asking for Sun readers - both children and adults - to pledge their support to report the videos if they see them.
Thirdly: We aim to educate children as to why they should never film and share incidents of bullying and the damage it can cause the victims and to themselves.
Fourthly: We want to offer parents an easy step by step guide to help them cope if their children have been victims of cyber bullying.
After he was shown the horrific footage by neighbours, Simon decided to share it on Facebook in a bid to raise awareness about the bullying his son was suffering.
He said: "I didn't know anything about it until friends came over and showed me the video on their phone.
"I'm a single parent with two kids and my first instinct was to go and tear the bullies apart - but they're only 12 and kids fight so obviously that wouldn't be the right thing.
"Toby didn't want me to go to the police and I always told him you don't tell tales, you don't grass - so he really didn't want me to."
Simon says after sleeping on the matter he decided he couldn't let Toby face school on Monday with everyone talking and laughing about the video - and so took matters into his own hands.
He said: "It had already gone round on Snapchat, so all of his friends would have already seen it and would be talking about it.
"So I decided to put it on Facebook myself and turn it around, so instead of everyone poking fun at him they were all on his side."
Simon wrote a long explanation of what had happened, the bullying Toby had suffered and called on parents and children to stop it happening in the future.
How to tackle bullying videos on social media
Brutal videos of children beating up other children are becoming more common by the day. But what should you do if you see one pop up on your social media feed? And worse still, what should you do if you discover that your child is a victim of this kind of bullying, or even that they are taking part themselves? It is an incredibly tough position for any parent to be in, so click here for the NSPCC's step by step guide of what to do.
While Simon uploaded the video to Facebook himself, he agrees more needs to be done by both social media networks to stop bully videos being taken and widely shared online.
He said: "It's a wicked thing, the social media sites should monitor it. There are millions and millions of people using them every day.
"I don't know if it would stop the bullying from happening, as that's always been around and no doubt always will be.
"But if we can try to teach kids morals and respect, while also stopping these attacks being filmed and shared, it should make a big difference."
Simon added it was important to give anyone being bullied the confidence to "tell someone, explain it and stop it happening".
The dad, from Yeovil, Somerset, said Toby's school - Prestyn Business Academy - has been "fantastic" since the attack.
He praised them for their handling of the situation, but also encouraged schools to work alongside social media platforms and with police to clamp down on the attacks.
But Simon pointed out there is a risk of also being targeted by bullies outside of school - as was the case with Toby.
He said: "I think it's important for schools to work with police and social media - but these attacks aren't just happening at school.
"If anything can stop someone from bullying, or teach people there's help available if you do tell people then hopefully it's a move in the right direction."
He added: "Adults need to be educated too - you so often hear about teachers saying 'well just pull your socks up and get on with it' - but that's not good enough.
"Adults need to be educated so that kids know they are always going to get help if they tell someone about it."
If you or anyone you know have experienced this kind of bullying email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368