A SCHOOLBOY was viciously attacked by a gang of teens in front of shocked onlookers who rushed to his aid.

The attack happened outside near the gates of a primary school, in Southend, just as young children were leaving yesterday afternoon.

As one mother described it, the boy - believed to be a Cecil Jones student - was left badly beaten and bleeding after parents stepped in to stop the attack.

The 27-year-old mother said: “I was walking along and I saw a bunch of boys running. I thought they were playing at first.

“But then one boy got knocked to the floor and about six or seven other boys started kicking him.

“He tried to crawl away and that’s when I noticed one of the boys had a metal pole with a bike seat on it which he was using to hit him.”

The witness described how one male parent tried to grab one of the boys while she scared the rest of them off.

She added: “One of them said ‘come on – we’ve done what we came to do’ and another replied ‘no I am not done’.

“That told me his agenda was to do more than just a few hits. He was not scared of the adults at all.

“I went over to the boy as soon as I could and he was absolutely covered in blood. You couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

“I was quite scared because your natural reaction is to go and help someone but with how the world is these days it tends to be those who help who get hurt.

“It all happened so fast and just near a primary school as they were coming out which I do not think is okay at all.”

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We were called by members of the public on Thursday, February 14, who had concerns for the welfare of a teenage boy on Eastern Avenue, Southend.

“A witness reported seeing two teenage boys assaulting another teenage boy, with what was believed to be a metal pole on Eastern Avenue shortly before 3.30pm.

“Officers arrived on scene and carried out a search of the area, but neither the victim nor the suspects were found.

“We’ve not received any further reports of an assault at this location.

“We urge people to make a report to us when they have been a victim of crime so that we can take the appropriate steps to protect them and bring offenders to justice.”

Call Southend Police on 101 quoting incident 762 of February 14.