TEACHERS at a Westbury school forgot to tell the parents of a 13-year-old boy that their son had run away from school.

Matravers School headteacher Nigel Gilhespy apologised to the parents of Paul Carpenter for the worrying lapse in protocol.

Paul's 31-year-old mother Sharon, who works at a launderette in Westbury, thought her teenage son was safely at school.

But on return from work she found him sitting in the pouring rain on the doorstep of the family home. He had been missing from school for five hours.

Mrs Carpenter said she met with teachers at Matravers who apologised for the mistake and promised her the incident was a one-off.

Paul ran away from school on July 8 after being bullied in class.

Fellow pupils hit him over the head with a tennis racket and pushed him off a chair.

Running home to The Crescent, he found the house locked and then sat on the doorstep for five hours waiting for his mother to return.

Mrs Carpenter said she dreads to think what could have happened to her son and is furious with teachers for not telling her about the incident immediately.

"You hear what happens to girls when they are walking home alone. I know he is a boy but it is still a concern," she said.

"You think your children are safe in school but parents should be aware.

"There have always been incidents with boys being boys but this bullying was a bit more than that. He was very upset.

"He didn't even get to his first class after registration. The headteacher apologised to me but pupils should be looked after at all times."

West Wiltshire MP Andrew Murrison spoke to the school about the incident after being contacted by Mrs Carpenter. Headteacher Mr Gilhespy said the incident was a one-off and "normal procedures" had not been followed.

He said the bullying matter was being resolved in co-operation with Paul's parents.

"The bullying issue is being dealt with internally," he said.

"The school did not phone Mrs Carpenter and I apologised and told her it was not our normal way of working. I held up my hand and admitted that our regular system had not worked."