A teenager told today how he was scarred for life by three classmates who lured him to a pub on his 18th birthday and branded him with a HOT IRON.
Alex Bicknell was targeted after he accused another boy from his school, Victor Unczur, 17, of stealing his Blackberry phone.
Unczur, along with pals Benjamin Brandford, 16, and Dayle De-Ville, 17, invited Alex to the pub for a birthday drink on March 9 before attacking him.
The trio subjected Alex to a two-hour ordeal during which he was battered with a pool cue and a wrench before having his hands burned with a hot iron.
On Thursday Unczur, Brandford and De-Ville, all from Nottingham, were jailed for four years after they admitted false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Alex, who still struggles to write as a result of his injuries, said: “I’ve not been the same since it happened, I’m depressed and I don’t like going out unless I’m with someone.
“I thought I was going to die. It is hard to get over.
“It started with one of them punching me in the face then they all started punching and kicking me.
“Then one of them got a hot iron on my hands and then they hit my knuckles with a wrench.
“I thought I was going to die, one of them came up and punched me in the face and then everyone else joined in and kept punching me.
“At one point they had an iron which they pressed on my hands – there’s a good chance I’ll have those scars for life.”
Alex had his Blackberry stolen from Ellis Guilford School in Nottingham where he studied horticulture at the sixth form college.
His friends told him there were rumours Unczur had taken his device so he sent him a message on Facebook asking if it was true.
Alex, who lives in Old Basford, Nottingham, added: “For all of this to happen out of a Facebook comment is scary. I just can’t believe how badly they reacted.
“They shoved a pool cue in my ribs and used the wrench to hit the backs of my legs.
“Afterwards I was taken to the bathroom to clean up and then they told me to go.
“I went to get a bus but by that time I don’t think I really knew what was happening.
“A couple saw how badly I was injured and called an ambulance.”
Alex spent two days in hospital which has left him with scars on his hands where his fingers had been ironed.
Doctors have told the teen that his hands will take at least two years to heal and the scars are unlikely to ever fully disappear.
Mum Lisa, 45, said: “They’re not 18 so they were never going to get a lengthy sentence, they’ll be out in a few years.
“It’s a pathetic sentence really considering what they have done. Alex has lost a job because of this.
“He was due to start as a gardener, which is what he really wants to do, just two days after the attack – he’s lost that job now.
“They only let him go because they thought they may have killed him. Victor threw water over him to wake him up then made him go and clean himself up.
“It was only when he got to a bus stop and a stranger saw how badly hurt he was they called the ambulance.
“Alex still has flashbacks and suffers horrific nightmares about the incident. He can barely sleep.
“At the end of the day he’s my son and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I can see it all in my mind’s eye – it’s horrific.
“He says he sent Victor a message saying he knew he had stolen the phone and that was all that started this.
“The level of violence against my son was shocking – it’s ruined his life.”
