Snapchat bullies bring misery to Edinburgh suburb with parents even being threatened

PARENTS have come forward to tell their own stories of a tearaway teen gang terrorising a Capital suburb.

The Evening News reported yesterday how fights started by bullies at Queensferry Community High School were being filmed and shared on social media.

A parent who raised the alarm praised the paper for shining a light on the menace while the school vowed new measures to tackle the thugs.

“Thank you for running with the story,” said the dad. “The response that I have witnessed on social media has been amazing.

“All parents talking about their problems with their kids being subjected to the same horrendous abuse.”

Some parents told of being threatened themselves with sickening violence after intervening to protect their children.

“One woman even said that they stormed into her house and threatened her in South Queensferry,” added the dad.

School 'rife' with bullying

Another told how his daughter was fat-shamed at the school by a mixed group of boys and girls.

“My daughter used to go to that school and basically she was bullied for over a year it took me months to get it sorted,” he said.

“It also took me over six months to speak to the headteacher about the bullying - the school is rife with it and the teachers didn't really care too much about it.

“The pupils that bullied my daughter only got a talking to and that made it worse - they just tried to brush it under the carpet.”

The Evening News has seen several videos of fights breaking out in front of the Queensferry Sports and Community Hub, next to the school, at lunchtime or after school.

The hub is a popular go-to for students to stock up on treats from its snack bar.

Education bosses, meanwhile, are in the process of training up ‘anti-bullying tsars’ in schools across the city.

Staff will be trained up by experts to deal with bullying before working with children and parents to help educate them on the dangers.

A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council said: “The council recognises that just having an anti-bullying policy is not enough and more work needs to be done in schools.

“So we are working with Respect Me, the national anti-bullying organisation, who are in the process of training specialist staff in schools.”