The mum of schoolboy left with a gaping head wound after he was attacked in a play park has told how she fears for what type of adults violent youths will become.
Colleen Rae's son Larry, 7, was set upon by a teenage boy while he was playing at the park with his brother near his home in Ferryden in Montrose on Monday.
The thug smashed Larry's head against a metal railing, splitting his scalp open and causing it to pour with blood. He was later rushed to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee to have the wound glued shut by medics.
Speaking to the Record, Colleen said: "Larry has been left traumatised by this attack and he's now scared to go out or walk to school on his own.
"His older brother Fletcher, who is only 8, ran home screaming. He was hysterical because he had witnessed it."
Furious Colleen, who owns a bridal hair and unisex hairdressing salon in the Angus town, said the boy who attacked Larry is a pupil at nearby Montrose Academy and that "out of control" youths are running riot in the area.
She continued: "This is happening so much all over Montrose now. There are children around here scared to go to school because of this behaviour.
"It's happening all the time at the Academy - kids beating up other kids. The children are out of control. I fear for what these youths will become as adults."
The attack on Larry is the latest in a series of violent incidents involving children that the Record has reported on as part of our Our Kids ... Our Future campaign.
The campaign was launched in February and calls for the Scottish Government and local councils to ring-fence funding for youth services and to make sure every community has a safe place for young people to go.
Local councillor Tommy Stewart said he was "shocked and disappointed" by the attack on Larry and called for more to be done to prevent youth violence.
He said: "More prevention work needs to take place around incidents like this. There needs to be more education about consequences, empathy and respect.
"I stand with the Record's Our Kids ... Our Future campaign. The Scottish Government should be taking these incidents very seriously and doing its utmost to prevent them from happening in the first place."
Police Scotland confirmed they are looking into the attack. A spokesperson said: “We received a report that a 7-year-old boy had been assaulted at Ferryden Park, Montrose on Monday, April 24.
“The boy attended Ninewells Hospital for treatment. Officers are following a positive line of enquiry.”
Speaking on behalf of Montrose Academy, an Angus Council spokesperson said: "We are aware that Police Scotland is investigating an incident in the Ferryden area in which a child was injured and are offering any relevant assistance to those police inquiries."
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