Son 'still traumatised' after being locked in Wolverhampton school cupboard, claims mother

Niska Lemon says her son frequently wakes up at night screaming 'let me out' as a result of being shut away in a storeroom at Woodthorne Primary School in Tettenhall.

She is one of a number of parents who claim their children were mistreated at the school in 2012. Following the allegations an investigation was launched by Wolverhampton City Council which found no evidence of wrongdoing.

But a group of parents have maintained that the probe was flawed, with key witnesses either ignored or not interviewed and no records kept of some meetings between investigators and parents.

Mrs Lemon said her son, who was aged 12 at the time the incidents were alleged to have taken place, still suffers from nightmares and regularly wakes up in tears late at night as a result of being locked in the cupboard.

"It is more than two years since this went on and he is still traumatised by what happened at the school," said Mrs Lemon, who lives in Wolverhampton.

"He was shut away three times, on one occasion for more than three hours, because his teacher said he was being a nuisance.

"He still wakes up at night screaming 'please let me out'. After all this time we are trying to correct the damage caused to him."

Mrs Lemon, who has two other children that went to Woodthorne at the time, moved them all to other schools when the alleged incidents came to light.

"It had been going on for eight or nine months before I found out," added Mrs Lemon, who said another pupil had urged her son to speak up about what had happened.

"My son was too frightened to say anything," she said. He didn't know why he had been put in the cupboard and was petrified that it would happen again."

Mrs Lemon said she sent emails and handed in letters in person to Wolverhampton City Council complaining about her son's treatment but never received a response.

She added: "I received nothing back from the council. In fact I had to conduct my own investigation to find out who was running the investigation as I couldn't get any straight answers from anyone at the council."

When she was eventually interviewed by police, Mrs Lemon said a member of council staff was instructed not to take notes during the meeting.

"None of my concerns were taken down. This was a cover up right from the start and it is time the truth came out."

Wolverhampton South West MP Paul Uppal and the city council's Conservative leader Councillor Wendy Thompson are among those who have called for the authority to re-open the case.

But council bosses remain adamant that a thorough investigation was conducted by West Midlands Police and the authority's Safeguarding Children team, with Director of Education Dr Jim McElligott saying there is 'no case to answer'.