A MUM has told how vicious bullies turned her 15-year-old daughter's schooldays into a living hell.

Anne Godfrey, 33, involved the police and education authorities before she moved house to live in another town to try and escape the persecution.

But her desperate efforts to find a solution ended when a Clitheroe school rejected her bid for a place and daughter Kelly had to return to her school, Hollins Technology College, in Accrington.

Anne, who now lives in Blackburn, was speaking after an allegation of failing to secure Kelly's regular attendance at school was withdrawn by Blackburn magistrates at the written request of the Lancashire Education Authority.

Anne said that two girls, not connected with Hollins Technical School, had started bullying Kelly on her way to and from school. She was threatened with iron bars and the girls even came to their home in Accrington. The police were involved on at least four occasions.

Anne said: "It got to the stage where Kelly was too frightened to leave the house.

"I moved to Clitheroe hoping for a new school for Kelly and a new start for us all.

"But Kelly was refused a place at Ribblesdale High School, a decision upheld on appeal, and Kelly had to return to Hollins Technical.

"The education authority provided a taxi to take her to and from school to avoid the bullies but they had friends in the school.

"Sometimes she was getting to school and then leaving straight away. On other occasions, when the teachers thought she was missing, she had actually locked herself in the toilets she was that scared and upset."

Anne said Kelly had been doing really well at school prior to the bullying starting and she is now hopeful of making up for lost time. Anne is due to be married in January and she and her new partner have moved to Blackburn. Kelly has been offered a place at a local school.

She said: "She always enjoyed school and was really bright. This has obviously caused her to miss a lot of education but I am sure she will catch up now.

"Even before she got accepted at the new school she was pestering me to take her for her uniform and she is really looking forward to it."

Frank Havard, headteacher of Hollins, said: "We take any report of bullying at school very seriously.

"In this particular case the pupil's mother complained a number of years ago that the child was being bullied by another pupil. That complaint was investigated and the other pupil was disciplined in accordance with the school's behaviour policy.

"The matter was resolved at that time and we received no other complaints of bullying from the family."

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said that a place of Ribblesdale High School was refused because of "oversubscribing".

They said: "The child has since moved to a different school and attendance has improved. As a result of this and a change in home circumstances, the case has been withdrawn.

"As far as we are aware the pupil has no attendance problems at the new school, which is in the Blackburn with Darwen area.

"Each individual school decides on their own individual anti-bullying policy, which we discuss with schools if they wish."