Autistic teen came home looking like she'd 'been in a car accident'

A mother says she will take legal action after her autistic daughter was restrained so harshly at school that a doctor thought her jaw was broken.

Lyndsay Mooney was 16 when she was allegedly restrained at specialist school Bothwellpark High School in Motherwall, North Lanarkshire in Scotland.

The incident occurred in 2012 and saw Ms Mooney, now 20, come home looking like she had been in a car accident, her mother, Claire Nossiter, claims.

Ms Mooney, who suffers from autism and Prader Willi syndrome - a genetic disorder which causes obesity, intellectual disability and shortness in height - had bruises all over her face and arms after she was restrained.

While two council employees were charged as a result of the incident, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service have dropped the case.

Now, Ms Nossiter is calling for justice to be served. The distraught mother is set to take civil action against North Lanarkshire Council and posted a plea on Facebook calling for justice for her daughter, sharing pictures of her daughter's injuries.

"She was sent home to me looking like this. I took her to hospital as I thought her jaw was broken... I was questioned by police," she wrote.

"The consultant of 22 years had originally thought my story was bizarre, that a school did this to her. They thought was it was me.

"The police attended and got statements. They did a very poor investigation at this time but in November 2016 reopened investigation after I complained. Well the Crown Office have decided not to take this to court and I want justice."

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The angry mother is asking for people to sign her online petition to get the "justice my vulnerable daughter deserves" and wants the UK Government to "ban disproportionate restraint on disabled children and adults", The Mirror reports.

In the petition, she wrote: "I’d had a call from school saying Lyndsay had ‘kicked off’ and been restrained and had a small bruise on her cheek. I couldn’t believe the state of her".

"There were bruises all over her body. She looked like she’d been in a car crash not at school."

A spokesman for North Lanarkshire Council told the Metro UK: "Approved restraint techniques are sometimes required in the best interests of the safety and wellbeing of the individual pupil, other pupils and staff."

"There have been two investigations into this incident; one was carried out by council staff which determined that the member of staff acted appropriately and police investigations were not taken any further."