A MOTHER has revealed how she fears for the safety of her eight-year-old son after she discovered him hanging from the bannister at their Runcorn home.

The boy told her he tied a rope around his neck and jumped down the stairs because he wanted to 'see what it is like to turn blue'.

Days later she caught him punching and shaking his 12-week-old sister as she lay in her cot.

Now 22-year-old Sharon Dolan is appealing to Halton Borough Council to allow her son Christopher to attend a residential school to help him with his problems.

But despite securing a place at Grappenhall Hall special school in Warrington, the council is refusing to fund a residental place for Christopher, who has been diagnosed as suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADDHD).

Sharon, of Kilncroft, Brookvale, moved to Halton from Warrington six weeks ago.

She said: 'When I was pregnant, Christopher would punch and kick me in the stomach.

'I have caught him violently shaking his sister and poking at the soft part of her skull. He tries to harm himself and I have twice caught him trying to hang himself from the bannisters. He also tries to drown himself in the bath.

'But despite all this, the council says he is not suitable to attend school as a residential pupil. Social services says it can only do something if he causes my daughter serious harm.

'I was offered respite help for Christopher, but it wasn't suitable. He needs proper help from the school before he kills himself or harms the baby.

'I need eyes in the back of my head. I am terrified to go to sleep because I am worried about what Christopher will do.

'At school he behaves badly, but he benefits from the help he gets there. I am worried that Christopher will get worse and worse.'

A council spokesman said: 'The council is providing the Dolan family with support through our team of social workers. There is no evidence in Christopher's statement of special needs to suggest he should have overnight care at Grappenhall Hall.

'The council will continue to work with the family in an effort to ensure Christopher's needs are met.'