Sister ‘not worried’ initially when teen wasn’t in his lesson
THE sister of a teenager allegedly badly bullied before his death has described the day that she found him gravely ill in a school toilet block.
She told an inquest hearing in Llanelli yesterday that her sibling, 14-year-old Bradley John, would go to the same “place of safety” to call his dad, Byron John, for advice when he was having problems.
Bradley’s sister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said this was how she knew where her brother would be when it was announced over the school’s Tannoy system that Bradley was not in his lesson on the morning of September 12, 2018.
“Bradley’s place of safety was the toilet block, the one outside the technology room, where he was later found,” she said.
“He confided in me and would say, ‘I have to go to the toilet cubicles when I’m stressed or angry where I can have five minutes to cool down and ring dad.’”
She added that she “wasn’t worried” initially and thought the announcement related to a note that the school office was expecting about her and her brother missing half a day of school the previous Friday.
“I went to the office and explained that if Bradley would be anywhere he would be in the toilet cubicles. I went back to class and the bell rang so I grabbed my stuff. I could do with using the toilet and so on my way to the next lesson I called by the toilets.
“I was in the cubicle next door [to where Bradley was found]. I heard the phone vibrating and I knocked on the door but there was no answer.
“I grabbed a teacher who was walking past and I said: ‘I think I’ve found my brother.’ She was knocking on the door but I was still more curious than concerned.”
A short while later Bradley was discovered inside the cubicle and was rushed to hospital where he died later that day.
His sister said she was “happy for Bradley” when he moved to St John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive from his previous school and she “just wanted my brother to be happy again” following the change. The inquest previously heard from Mr John about alleged bullying his son had suffered both at the school and previously.
Giving evidence at the inquest yesterday Bradley’s sister said the bullying he experienced had intensified and she had become a target herself because of her association with him.
“I started to notice a few things. He would say the bullying was picking up and he was having problems and that he was reporting it and that nothing really happened and that teachers hadn’t really done anything about it,” she said.
“It was horrific. He was called ‘inbred,’ ‘gypsy’ and ‘gay boy’ and there were threats about his horses and then eventually the bullying came on to me as well.”
Recalling the morning of his death, Bradley’s sister said: “Bradley was very very happy and in the best place I had ever seen him. I was just so happy that he was this happy.”
Representatives for the school outlined several occasions where they said sanctions, including detentions, had been implemented for incidents of bullying or other altercations involving Bradley and his sister.
The inquest continues. ■ For confidential support the Samaritans can be contacted for free around the clock 365 days a year on 116 123.