A TEENAGER who was the victim of a violent gang attack in Corsham is leading a campaign against hate crime and bullying, after 27 other youngsters came forward to say they had been attacked in the town.

Kristo Crushcov, 15, suffered a perforated eardrum after the gang lured him out of his home in Pickwick Road and attacked him.

Eight weeks on from the attack, which was filmed and circulated on social media platform Snapchat, the teenager, who attends The Corsham School, is fronting a Childline campaign to encourage others to speak out against bullies and help tackle the growing anti-social behaviour problems in the town and beyond.

“I have made a full recovery, but I’m still having to look over my shoulder every time I walk into town and to school,” he said.

“As they were attacking me, they were calling me names - a lot of them were laughing. I know these boys are known to carry knives so I was afraid of being stabbed while they were attacking me. If it wasn’t for my visible injuries, I don’t know if I would have told my dad because I felt embarrassed. But then I thought why hide it and live in fear?

“Not all the kids may have felt they could tell their parents.”

“After it happened, I received some messages, saying they would come to my house and do it again.”

Since Kristo spoke out about his experience, others have come forward to say they were attacked by the group and he is still worried that they could attack again.

His father Ben, who was also threatened by the teenagers in the wake of the attack, believes there should be more options for youths at risk in Corsham.

“It was very stressful for me as a parent,” he said. “This was made worse by ongoing threats of follow-up attacks, gang members loitering outside our home and throwing things at the windows.

“There needs to be a stronger approach from the authorities when dealing with similar assaults. The number of attacks just goes to show the extent of the violence and how it has been allowed to carry on, in a town that is deemed very safe.”

As concerns among parents in the town grow, Rodney Bell, The Corsham School’s headteacher, says the school is taking steps to protect its pupils.

He said: “To promote a safe environment for students, we have robust safeguarding procedures for dealing with any threat posed by any non-school members during the school day.

“As part of those procedures We routinely have staff on duty at the end of the school day to help supervise pick-ups and bus departures. Any anti-social or unacceptable behaviour committed on the way to or from school by students will be dealt with in line with our behaviour and anti-bullying policies and referred to the police where appropriate. Any threats to our students or staff from those outside of the school will be referred immediately to the police.

“The safeguarding of our students has and always will be our number one priority.”

Police officers are conducting patrols around the area to combat the behaviour and Acting Inspector Don Pocock will be fielding questions at the area board meeting tonight.