Schoolchildren beaten with metal bar

Friends Callum Leonard, 14, and Jessica Wilde, 13, were sitting near playing fields at Wallbank Primary School in Tipton, Birmingham, texting friends when a man walked up behind them and attacked them.

Despite being hit from behind and each being struck at least twice on the head, the teenagers managed to scramble to their feet and escape along a path.

Both teenagers required hospital treatment for several deep cuts to their heads, and have been left traumatised by the incident.

The white male attacker, believed to be aged about 20, approached the youngsters at 5.40pm on Tuesday November 20.

The parents of the pair, who described them as bubbly and outgoing youngsters, said they are still too scared to go outside after dark – but are on the mend.

Callum’s mother Claire Leonard, of Henn Drive, Tipton, said: “They had managed to run away, and when I got to them they were waiting for the ambulance with Jessica’s dad.They had run for about 15 minutes before they stopped to ring anyone, they were that frightened.”

Jessica’s mother Claire Wilde, of Coseley, West Midlands, said Callum was her “little hero” after he grabbed her daughter off the ground and helped her run off, as the attack continued.

She said her daughter had also been badly shaken by the assault.

The youngsters were treated at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton and were able to go home the same day, and are now back in class at The Coseley School.