A South Hams student has been brutally beaten on video as a crowd of other pupils cheered.

The pupil’s shocked mother has released a video showing her “bullied” 14-year-old son being brutally beaten at Ivybridge Community College.

Furious Alexandra Thomas, 46, says she could barely watch while several other pupils gathered round "for entertainment" and egged on her son’s attacker.

Her son - who she has asked not to be named - is shown in the footage being pinned to the floor and taking numerous punches to the face.

He only raises his hands to protect himself and was left with bruising to his face, strangulation marks around his neck along with scratching and cuts.

Alexandra says she was initially told by the school that her son was equally to blame for the scrap.

But she says the video evidence that she was made aware of the day afterwards proves otherwise.

She said: "This was an organised beating for entertainment.

"I couldn’t watch it, it took me the first few times before I could watch it without the sound on - some how the sound makes it worse.

"The first time I stopped completely, I had to collect myself.

"The video shows two young lads, one of whom is defenceless for the most part of it because he’s not even on his feet.

"It shows a level of violence that in the police words is an assault.

"If this was done in a boxing ring there would be a referee, if it happened on a rugby pitch the player be fined and banned.

"As a mother it is worrying that someone so young would be so violent."

Alexandra says she was shocked when staff at Ivybridge Community School made the decision to suspend both pupils involved.

She added: "The school tried to make out it was 50/50 but it didn’t look like that to me.

"Nobody got involved, there were Year 11s there telling people to stay back and saying they would get a slap if they tried to break it up.

"There was a sixth form student who is paid by the school to monitor during breaks and they turned their back.

"I told the school that I have the video and no one wants to see it, no one will talk to me.

"This has changed my little boy, he doesn’t know who he is able to trust, he feels like the adults in this situation have let him down."

Devon and Cornwall Police say they have investigated the incident but decided it was an internal matter for the school to resolve so would be taking no further action.

But Alexandra claims the school are just trying to cover up what happened.

She added: "They have a culture in the school of nothing happening to children who show this level of violence.

"They have an outstanding Ofsted report and they don’t want to do anything thing to muddy those waters.

"What exactly is violent enough, when will the principal say enough is enough?

"My son received no treatment following the incident, was sent back into class and then pulled from class and told he was in trouble.

"He took the beating on the chin, he was told it was going to happen and he said, ’you know what, I can’t avoid it’ and he didn’t want to be scared of going to school."

Alexandra, a pastoral manager from Mothecombe, Devon, said her son was traumatised and didn’t want to go anywhere for a week after the incident on January 18.

She added: "He hasn’t had to deal with any thing like this before - I feel like he has lost all of his innocence through this.

"The principal hasn’t spoken to me through all this, she hasn’t asked how my son is.

"It is horrible, it’s vile."

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "Police investigated an allegation of an assault following a fight between two pupils at Ivybridge Community College on Tuesday, January 18.

"After discussions with those involved including the parents and the school, this matter is now being handled internally by the school."

Ivybridge Community College said: "This was an unfortunate incident and it would not be appropriate for us to make further comment.

"Suffice to say that we have worked with both the police and students’ parents on this matter."