Police receive 4,000 reports of children abusing their parents during lockdown amid 25% rise in cases - as mother tells how daughter throttled her and chased her with plank of wood
At least 4,000 cases of children attacking their own parents were reported to police during lockdown, alarming figures reveal.
Such violent episodes spiked by 25 per cent over the period from March to June when social contact outside households was limited to wrestle down the pandemic.
The surge in attacks included one mother who was pinned against the wall and throttled by her daughter, who also chased her with a plank of wood.
She told ITV's Good Morning Britain, which compiled the data: 'I can't describe the desperation I feel. I felt angry, powerless... This is not a happy healthy child that behaves like this.'
Campaigners have called child-parent attacks the 'hidden' part of domestic abuse, which they say was amplified during the crisis as typical support structures were swept away.
Today's sobering statistics have also reignited a debate about smacking, but calls for it to be used to hard-wire discipline have been firmly rejected by charities.
At least 4,000 cases of children attacking their own parents were reported to police during lockdown, alarming figures reveal (file photo)
Campaigners have called child-parent attacks the 'hidden' part of domestic abuse (Jane Griffiths pictured)
Around half of police forces in England and Wales responded to GMB's Freedom of Information request, which disclosed 4,274 cases of attacks.
One mother, using the false name Kath, told the programme of the sheer fright at being beaten by her own daughter.
She said: 'I can't describe the desperation I feel. I felt angry, powerless, I felt desperately worried about her, wanting her to get the support she needs because this comes from a position of mental health issues. This is not a happy healthy child that behaves like this.
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'She started out with smacking, it escalated… She had me up against the wall with her hands around my throat, she chased me with a piece of wood to try to attack me with it.'
She added: 'There have been times when I've felt genuinely in danger, from the thought that this could go wrong, I could fall down the stairs or she could hit me and I could hit my head wrong.
'Often it's come to me having to call the police just to de-escalate the situation and have her removed from the environment and to be honest at times like that I feel utter relief just to have some breathing space.'
The surge in attacks included one mother (pictured left) who was pinned against the wall and throttled by her daughter, who also chased her with a plank of wood
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