Our son's abuse at school has left us all traumatised

A MUM whose son was assaulted by a sports coach at his school says she has been left “heartbroken by having to witness his trauma and distress”.

- By ADAM EVERETT

Oliver Nugent was filmed placing the pupil into a headlock while working at Life Wirral Sports School in New Brighton.

The incident during a class visit to a leisure centre also saw him holding the boy down by his neck and “mocking” him in the aftermath of the incident. A judge yesterday criticised a “focus on the commercial aspect at the top of the school rather than any duty of care” which he said had led to “abusive, loutish and immature” by its staff.

Liverpool Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday afternoon that an undercover reporter was employed at the independent school for pupils with special educational needs for seven weeks up until May last year. Videos which were secretly filmed by the journalist during this time were subsequently aired as part of a BBC Panorama documentary, with the raw footage being passed on to Merseyside Police.

Matthew Dixon, prosecuting, described how one such clip was captured during a visit to Leasowe Recreation Centre, when Nugent was leading a sports session with pupils. The 27-year-old, of Seaview Avenue in Irby, was filmed placing one student into a headlock, taking him to the floor and briefly holding him down by his neck after he had apparently been “messing around”.