MAGISTRATES have given a 43-year-old mother an absolute discharge for not sending her daughter to a Gwynedd comprehensive school regularly after they heard the girl had been subjected to a campaign of vicious bullying.

The 13 year-old-girl had even been urged online “to go and kill yourself” – with the remark “Put it on YouTube and you might get a ‘like’.”

Court chairman Alistair Langdon said at Caernarfon on Thursday that magistrates “do believe from what we have heard and seen that (she) has been subjected to bullying and the school was fully aware of this.”

He added: “We also know the school may not have been aware of the extent and severity of the bullying.”

The mother claimed the school – which can’t be named for legal reasons – was fully aware of what had gone on but had not taken action.

She pleaded guilty to not sending her daughter to school on dates between February and May, but her solicitor Tudur Owen showed magistrates examples of what had been written about her on social media.

The mother was ordered to pay the county council’s costs of £476 and explained outside the court that she had pleaded guilty because there was no alternative in law.

She said: “My daughter was targeted by a group of boys and girls who made insulting comments about her looks, her clothes and her family.

"It was absolutely degrading.

“They even made comments involving a relative who was tragically sick years ago.

"A happy-go-lucky child was turned into a girl who couldn’t sleep, lost weight and became snappy. She was so unhappy there were times when I couldn’t send her to school because she was crying.

“Most of the bullying was on Facebook. She changed her account but it made no difference.

“She would be bullied on the school bus and also in school, when teachers should have had a duty of care.

“My daughter also got nasty texts and was the victim of a campaign which wasn’t taken seriously enough by the school. I was told the girls responsible “were not the type to bully your daughter.””

The mother added: “Luckily, I have a good solicitor who took on my case, and the truth has now been heard in court. But other parents should also speak out where there has been bullying.”

The girl said after the case: “I was picked on because I live in the country and couldn’t join the others at under-18s parties and other activities. Once I was attacked in school and slammed against the wall but the girl who did it only got detention.

"But now I have got a nice group of friends and things are better.”

Gwynedd Council said after the case that following government advice they had a comprehensive anti-bullying policy with guidelines for all schools to deal with allegations. Information about reported cases was collated and the county “has very low numbers of recorded incidents to date.”

A spokesman said headteachers had received training to raise awareness about the latest government guidelines which had included “sessions on respecting others and aspects of cyber-bulling”.

They had also received guidance on how to ensure compliance with equality issues in their school, including recording incidents of bullying.

He said: “Anti-bullying policies are important, however it is essential that parents and pupils share any information regarding bullying with schools so that they can react and protect the victim. Without information it is extremely difficult for schools to tackle bullying in particular cyber-bullying, which tends to happen outside school hours.”