A teenage has been left with physical symptoms and emotional scars after being attacked by his classmates for his dietary lifestyles, according to the boy's horrified mother.
Dante, who is 14 years old, has been attacked on two occasions for being vegan. Having moved to a new school - transferring to Milford Haven School after moving from Neath in Wales - back in October, the teenager has already suffered through "weeks of meat thrown at him", according to his mother Rachel.
The first said incident occurred just a month into his time at Milford Haven, when Dante was attacked unprovoked, and punched in the throat. The second incident, which took place earlier this month on January 15, involved several boys holding Dante down as they tried to force bacon into his mouth.
"They tried to force my son to eat bacon," Rachel recalled, saying that the ordeals have given Dante symptoms consistent with post-concussion syndrome.
"There's a group but one boy did the damage while the others watched. Dante got hold of the boy's wrists to stop him putting meat in his mouth. But he headbutted my son then started repeatedly punching him on the side of the head on the temple.
I got a phone call from the school to say Dante has had a head injury. They said there's been an incident with a boy. I rushed to the school. His face was all red - he looked like a tomato. He had been headbutted. He came home and went to bed. He has never been in trouble in his life. He is not a violent child. It was an unprovoked attack."
Rachel says that after the incidents, Dante has completely changed - becoming "reclusive" after the continued bullying. "He is in bed now but he has got to go back to the school and to the same classes on Monday," Rachel said. "It seems bullies are protected. Dante is really upset and so stressed out. He has become so reclusive."
Although Rachel said that Milford Haven seemed to be a 'wonderful school' initially, the ordeal Dante has had to go through has left this mum feeling like this is all her fault. "I feel like I've let my son down terribly," she revealed, while adding that the ordeal is beginning to take its toll on her too.
"I have had an uncontrollable twitching eye for a week now, and that's probably due to stress. This is making me physically sick and unable to sleep," Rachel explained, and although Dante has expressed his desire to leave the school, the fact that his little sister is happy makes the decision to move a lot more difficult.
"My little girl is in an absolutely fantastic school, so it's a quandary. Who do I let down? I love both of my babies, but one doesn't want to move, and one hates it so much."
"The school wishes to make clear that it takes the safeguarding of pupils and their school community as their prime consideration," said a spokesperson from Pembrokeshire County Council, which Milford Haven is a part of. Rachel says she has also contacted the police over the January 15 attack.
