Father fears young son might kill

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A father says he fears his 10-year-old adopted son will kill someone unless social services take action.

The child, who is unable to form normal relationships, has been taken into care after several violent acts against his family, including stabbing his father.

The Darlington family, who do not want to be identified, say he needs special psychotherapy, but social workers have yet to approve the treatment.

Social services said they had worked closely with the family for years.

He could easily kill someone. He is absolutely capable of killing someone The boy's father

The child attacked his father with a kitchen knife, attempted to strangle his mother with a seatbelt as she was driving a car and left shattered glass to cut his siblings' feet.

He has also tried to sexually assault young girls and attack his half-sister, according to the family.

His father said the decision to put his son into care was "the worst time of my life", and that he loved his son "dearly".

"One day I went to pick him up from school and found him being restrained by six teachers. He was like a wild animal. He was absolutely mad. I couldn't believe it and I couldn't understand it.

"As he got older it got worse and worse. We coped on our own for 10 years.

Treatment centre

"We were desperate for children, and I was adopted myself. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to do, but it has been an absolute nightmare."

The family want to send the boy on a six-month course of psychotherapy at a specialist treatment centre for children with Reactive Attachment Disorder in Lancashire.

But treatment costs between £3,000 and £5,000 a week, the father said, and the centre can only accept patients who have been referred to them by local authorities.

His father added: "He could easily kill someone. He is absolutely capable of killing someone. He has threatened us all.

"We have asked for help, but instead of getting help we seem to have been victimised."

A Darlington Council spokesman said social services worked closely with other agencies, including health services, to achieve the best possible outcome.

He said: "We will continue to work with other agencies in relation to this child and his family."

Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said they had also worked closely with the family, and urged them to get in touch to discuss their concerns.