‘Bullied Audi apprentice took his own life’
A TEENAGE apprentice mechanic at Audi killed himself after bullying colleagues burned his clothes and locked him in a cage, an inquest has heard.
George Cheese, 18, was “over the moon” when he got the position at the car dealership, his parents said, but was soon covered in bruises and had holes burned into his clothes.
A coroner in Reading, Berks, heard that on one occasion, the young man said his colleagues had locked him in a cage at the garage, doused him in a flammable liquid and set fire to his clothes. His mother said that he had returned from work with a limp after being held to the ground and repeatedly punched in the thigh by colleagues.
The teenager was found dead on April 9 last year, around six months after he started at Audi. He had been taking medication for his mental health.
His father, Keith, told the inquest that on the evening before his death, his son had been pacing around the house, saying: “I have to quit, I can’t go back there.” The inquest continues.