Boy whose finger was amputated after ‘racist bullying’ to get prosthetic after £60,000 raised

A schoolboy, 11, whose finger was amputated after he suffered “racist bullying” at school, is to receive a new prosthetic after his mum raised more than £60,000 online.

Raheem Bailey injured his hand while trying to get away from a group of children who attacked him at Abertillery Learning Community school in Gwent, South Wales, his mum Shantal Bailey said.

She added her son had “faced racial and physical abuse, as well as more generic bullying about his height and other things, since he started secondary school in September 2021.”

Shantal wrote on GoFundMe: “On Tuesday, Raheem was attacked by a group of children and beaten (mainly kicked) after being pushed to the ground.

“Consequently, Raheem made a desperate attempt to leave the school grounds in order to escape the situation.

“Whilst climbing the fence, his finger got caught and attached to it, causing the skin to strip and the finger to break in half it.”

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Shantal said surgeons tried to save her son’s finger during a six-hour operation but they were unsuccessful and the digit had to be amputated.

She appealed for £10,000 to help Raheem get a personalised prosthetic finger and help with any additional costs for recovery, with the target now smashed with more than £60,000 donated.

Shantal explained: “Raheem has faced racial and physical abuse, as well as more generic bullying about his height and other things, since he started secondary school in September 2021.

“Although he had mentioned a few incidents of people being 'mean to him' recently, I did not realise the extent of what he was going through until an incident this week.”

A spokesperson Abertillery Learning Community school said it was helping police to establish what had happened.

They said: “We are currently working closely with Gent Police and the local authority to establish the full details of the incident.

“The well-being and safety of our pupils and staff remains of paramount importance. We will not be commenting further at this time."

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A spokesman for Gwent Police added: “We received a report of an incident at a school in Abertillery around 1pm on Wednesday, where an 11-year-old boy was injured.

“A multi-agency meeting has taken place and we’re working with the school as part of our ongoing enquires.”

A Welsh government spokesperson said: “We condemn bullying and racial harassment in any form and expect allegations and incidents of bullying and racism to be fully investigated by schools with appropriate action taken to address the matter and prevent further instances from happening.

“We understand that this incident is being investigated by the school and the local authority, and that Gwent Police are involved and carrying out an investigation.

“As such, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.”