Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SUBO: I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY BULLIES
Star breaks silence on gang torment
DEFIANT Susan Boyle has vowed not to be hounded out of her home by a gang of teenage bullies.
The Sunday Mirror revealed last week how the Britain’s Got Talent star had been subjected to vile insults and intimidation by up to 15 youths.
But speaking of her torment for the first time, the Scottish singer, 56, said: “I live in a great community and have the most brilliant neighbours who have always been a great support.
“I won’t be driven out of my home, why would I let the bullies win?” Susan, who has Asperger syndrome, has endured months of abuse at the hands of the teenage yobs.
On one occasion the gang surrounded her at a bus stop before pelting her with anything to hand. The thugs have also set fire to paper and thrown it at her.
But Susan is not the only victim. Other locals in Blackburn, West Lothian, said the “disgusting” teens pick on anyone they see as vulnerable. Last night, Susan explained her decision not to go to the police. She said: “I do not condone this behaviour but I made the decision and asked my team to hold off from contacting the police straight away to give the kids involved the opportunity to see the error of their ways.
“I believe in second chances and my decision to not go to the police straight away was firstly to see whether the kids would pack it in – and also because I had been made aware the police had already responded in a letter to someone else that they couldn’t help as there was no CCTV.”
Susan, who has sold 25 million records worldwide, still lives in the ex-council house she grew up in.
She bought the property soon after finishing second on BGT in 2009.