A FOURTEEN-year-old boy twice tried to commit suicide after being bullied by a teacher at his school, a court has heard.

The parents of Dean Corless, a pupil at Queens Park Technology College, Blackburn, have told how he took an overdose of alcohol and amphetamine before trying to to jump off a bridge.

And they revealed how his mother caught him holding a kitchen knife to his wrist in what they believed was a second attempt to take his own life.

Blackburn magistrates were told that both suicide attempts in the last year were prompted because Dean was concerned about returning to school at the end of holidays after being bullied by a teacher.

Today national children's charity Childline said 20,000 youngsters a year called its helplines about bullying because they felt scared and trapped.

Parents Paul, 42 and mother-of-seven Bernadette, 41, both unemployed, of Formby Close, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to failing to secure the regular attendance of Dean and were each given a conditional discharge for 24 months.

Sian Hall, defending, told the court there were serious difficulties surrounding the boy and his education.

She said: "The main reason for his non-attendance has been the issue of bullying, which his parents say has come from one of the teachers.

"It was originally raised in September and Dean has now attempted suicide on two occasions, the first before he was due to go back after the summer holidays.

"He has also taken an overdose of alcohol and amphetamine, tried to jump off a bridge and ended up in hospital. He has now seen a psychiatrist."

Speaking after the court case, Mrs Corless: "Dean has kept things all bottled up, which led to his suicide attempts."

She said that his attendance had improved since he was referred to a specialist unit linked to the school.

Alan Fairhurst, prosecuting for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said out of 156 sessions between September 2 and January 15, Dean had attended only 56. He said extensive efforts to improve his attendance had been without success.

Queens Park Technology College headteacher Ian Bott said: "I do not want to comment on individual cases but I would say that there is a very robust anti-bullying policy in school, providing a tremendous support for individuals and prosecution is obviously a last resort."

Blackburn with Darwen Council was asked by the Evening Telegraph if it was aware of the bullying allegations, if they had been investigated, what the outcome was and if any teacher involved was still at the school.

Cath Hitchen, an assistant director for education, replied: "We never comment on individual cases but the LEA has a zero tolerance policy on bullying.

"A school will investigate any complaint by parents or pupils and take appropriate action. Every school has a complaints process which would address parents' concerns if they were not happy with the results of the initial investigation.

"Prosecution is always a last resort."

A spokesman for Childline, said: "Bullied children feel like they are trapped and have no-one to turn to.

"Our advice is to tell someone.

"If they don't speak to someone then the steps towards finding a solution cannot be taken."