A FAMILY have spoken of their horror after their young daughter was handed a written death threat at school.

The 11-year-old youngster, who is a pupil at Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Oswaldtwistle, was told in the scribbled note that if she returned to school again she would get "banged".

It added: "You'd better be scared, you're dead -- run bitch run."

The girl and her family live in Accrington and her family believe she is being picked on because she is quiet and doesn't have many friends.

Today, Sergeant Allen Davies, from Accrington police, said he had spoken to the family and hoped the matter could be dealt with by the school.

The girl's grandfather Billy Allison, of Cartmel Avenue, said: "It is in writing and it really scared her and the family.

"This is a serious threat, not just a thoughtless remark.

"The person who is responsible for this is a bully and has taken the time to write down the threats, which makes it a lot more serious.

"It is not just something said in the heat of the moment."

The victim handed the letter to teachers at the school and her family were so worried that they reported the matter to police.

The girl's grandfather said that staff at Rhyddings needed to do more to tackle bullying.

He said that last year his 16-year-old daughter had to abandon her studies at the school because bullying became so bad. He added: "We are very annoyed and very worried.

"This happened to my daughter and she had ended up leaving."

Nobody from the school was available to comment.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "The council views all allegations of bullying with concern and works with all schools in insuring appropriate anti-bullying policies are in place."