A BURNLEY teaching assistant has claimed he suffered ‘seven months of hell’ at the hands of ‘violent and racist’ pupils.

Khalid Akram, 34, said he was driven to the verge of suicide by the children at the Rose School, Swindon Street, Burnley.

The school caters for 40-plus pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

Mr Akram is preparing to face education bosses at an employment tribunal after being fired in July 2009 for alleged dishonesty and claims he falsified his CV to get the job.

But Mr Akram is putting forward a claim for unfair dismissal, over the ‘hell’ he says he endured.

Mr Akram said he was forced to call police after one boy kicked him and vowed to rape his wife and murder his two children.

Another pupil slashed his arm with a pair of maths compasses, he said.

And a girl punched him in the face after unleashing a torrent of four-letter race hate, Mr Khan claims.

Mr Khalid said CCTV cameras captured a string of attacks at the state school, but he claimed bosses repeatedly ignored his pleas for help.

He said: “I’ve been to hell and back over this.

“I’ve been degraded and treated worse than an animal but no one was there to help me. What I experienced turned my life upside down – I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”

Mr Khalid’s tribunal is scheduled for September, when he will argue that the failure of management to deal with the abuse against him led to post traumatic stress disorder, which he said he has been diagnosed with by two psychiatrists.

He denies the school’s allegations of dishonesty and claims that he has come close to suicide. Lancashire County Council, which runs the school, declined to comment because of the tribunal.

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