A ten-year-old schoolboy suffered cuts and bruises when he was “punched to the ground and kicked” as he walked home from visiting his local shops.

Elliott Horwood was approached by two older boys who asked him to go to the park, before they took him to a nearby alleyway in Leavesden.

There they searched him for valuables before allegedly punching him to the face and stomach, and kicking him on the ground.

The Leavesden Green School pupil's mother Michelle Wright also said the pair threatened to kill her son before leaving him to make his own way home.

Once he arrived, however, the extent of his injuries meant he collapsed as Ms Wright telephoned for an ambulance.

She said: “He was having breathing difficulties. They bruised his ribs when they punched him to the ground and kicked him.

“I just think it's disgusting how a ten-year-old cannot go around the shops anymore. I tell them to be aware of adults, not kids. It's just ludicrous.

“I have had to make sure he goes out because he didn't want to go out again. He was a bit concerned about it.”

The alleged assault took place in an alleyway off Hill Rise Avenue at about 1.30pm on Thursday, July 30.

Elliott had returned home to Edson Close from the shops in nearby Haines Way before leaving again to visit a friend.

His mother said he had earlier been approached by two boys outside the shop, who spoke to him again as he walked home the second time.

They then asked him to follow them to a nearby park, Ms Wright said, before taking him into the alleyway where they searched his pockets and then attacked him.

Elliott normally carries his mobile phone but on this occasion had left it at home.

Mother-of-three Ms Wright said: “It was horrendous [when he got home]. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. All his wrists were cut. He said they didn't let him get off the ground.

“I'm so angry that someone thinks they have got the right to lay their hands on him. I don't understand how they could do it. He's an independent, out-going little boy. He wouldn't hurt a fly.

“Kids should be allowed to go round the shops and the park without being attacked. As a mother, I don't know what to do now. Do you keep them in or let them out?”

A Hertfordshire Police representative confirmed two 13-year-old boys were interviewed in connection with the incident and are helping officers with their enquiries.