A TERRIFIED ten-year-old was beaten and threatened with fire by a gang of youths as he played just yards from his home.

The boy was approached by a gang of about six youths early on Monday evening in the Farmwood Close area of Maindee.

They asked him to come with them - and when he refused surrounded him, brandishing cigarette lighters, and said if he refused again they would set him alight.

The terrified youngster was then dragged away and beaten up. The gang of youths - who spoke to each other in code - then set fire to bushes and trees around him. He only escaped when the gang was disturbed by a passer-by.

The boy's mother, who does not want to be named, said: "Luckily somebody came over and called them off but they said they wanted to finish him off.

"He was very upset, shaking and was in a terrible state. They saw a little boy on his own, didn't ask if he had a mobile or anything, they just wanted to beat him up. "They could have killed him but that chap came out, if he didn't it could have been a completely different story."

The youngster suffered severe bruising and was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

He is now afraid to go out and is still on medication for his injuries. His mother added: "He can't get to the top of the stairs because he is in pain. "You try and bring your children up to abide by the law and keep them within set limits.

"He was just a little boy out near his home on a lovely spring day - now you can't let your children go out at tea time without something like this happening.

"The physical things in time will heal but it is the mental issues with him now, even if it had happened to an adult they would have been terrified, but he is just a little boy."