Exclusive: Syrian schoolboy attacked in video 'crying at night' over bullying since arrival in UK

A Syrian boy who was attacked in a video shared widely online has been left "crying at night" over the bullying he has received since his arrival in the UK.

Speaking exclusively to ITV News, the 15-year-old refugee,who cannot be named for legal reasons, described how he has been targeted by bullies for the past two years.

The teenager, who came to the UK with his family through a United Nations programme, said: "I was feeling unsafe everywhere - even to go to the shop."

"I was feeling like I couldn't study or do my homework.

"I woke up at night and just started crying because of this problem.

"When I saw everyone looking at this video I felt ashamed of myself and why it happened. I was really upset about that."

The video of the incident, which happened at Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield on October 25, has been viewed millions of times online and has provoked outrage and prompted wellwishers to set up an online crowdfunding page for him.

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: "Regarding the assault on a 15-year-old youth in Almondbury, which featured in a video posted on social media yesterday and has been widely reported in the media, a 16-year-old youth has been interviewed and reported for summons, for an offence of assault."

The youngster told ITV News that the bullying and racism has been so bad during his time in the UK that he didn’t want to go to school, but persevered because he wanted to study.

"I don't feel safe at school. Sometimes I say to my dad I don't want to go to school anymore," he said.

"I was disappointed when I came to the UK because I was thinking my life is going to be good, my future is going to be really good if I study at school. And I didn't achieve any of that."

The 15-year-old said he was "upset" by his school's response to the ongoing bullying, claiming the school suggested he moved school to stop it from happening.

"When I came to the UK I felt I was going to be safe, and none of that happened. Everyone started talking about the law - that everyone is under the law," he said.

"I was following the law, trying to be safe, and none of that happened. I was trying to call our council to help us, but they didn't. I was trying to tell the police, they didn't listen to me either."

The youngster's family fled the city of Homs in 2010 when he was just eight years old.

They first moved to Lebanon before being resettled in the UK in 2016.

The incident happened at a school in Almondbury.