Teenagers 'forced disabled man to eat maggot sandwich and jump into lake'

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Two teenagers forced a disabled man to eat a maggot sandwich, the man’s family has claimed.

Daniel Newell said his brother Matthew, 32, who has William’s Syndrome, was forced to take a bite of the sandwich which also contained excrement, before he was coaxed to jump into the nearby lake.

Mr Newell said his brother and his cousin, 11, were fishing by a lake in Mill Dam Park, Kirkby, last week when the two boys began teasing him.

The boys are described as having grabbed the DVDs he was carrying and forcing him to take a bite before realising it was crawling with maggots and also contained excrement.

His cousin ran to get help from Matthew’s aunt after the boys reportedly began encouraging him to jump into the lake, who when she arrived was met with verbal abuse from the boys before they left, it is claimed.

Daniel, 28, who cares full-time for Matthew, told the Liverpool Echo: "Matthew was in hysterics, traumatised. He hasn’t cried since he was six, but he was shaking and crying.

"He’s never had problems there before – he used to go every day, as we can see it from our house and it’s the only time he has some independence.

"But now they’ve taken that away from him - he doesn’t want to go down there."

Williams’ Syndrome affects Mr Newell’s mental age, and he is also diagnosed with chronic granulomatous disorder, a fault in his immune system which can make any infection life-threatening.

Mr Newell has been said to be delighted by hundreds of messages of support after his brother Daniel shared the incident on Facebook.

Daniel said: "It feels like the whole of Kirkby is supporting him. Matthew’s excited that when he does go out again people will look out for him."