CHILD GANG HANG LAD OF 7 'FOR FUN' Youngster could have died if he hadn't been rescued.

Byline: REBECCA EVANS 

A GANG of children put a rope noose around a young boy's neck, strung him up from a tree and then ran away laughing.

Bradley McLachlan, seven, was left for dead dangling inches above the ground by the three lads he had been playing with moments before.

His tormentors - thought to be as young as seven - told him the horrifying attack was "fun".

Choking and gasping for air, Bradley was luckily able to hoist his body up before an older boy walked past just in time to free him.

Police believe he probably would have died if he had not been released.

Mum Sharleen, 30, said: "I feel sick and shocked someone could do this, not least other children.

"This wasn't just a game that went wrong, it's far more serious. I can't get my head around it.

"There were marks under his chin and they went right up around the back of his head.

"The police said he could have died if he hadn't been so small and light. It's just awful."

Bradley met the boys - all dressed in red T-shirts, combat shorts and white trainers - minutes before the attack in a Portsmouth park. They were playing in a den and told him to wait outside before inviting him in, where they tied him up with their homemade noose.

He needed hospital treatment for severe rope burns left on his neck.

The lads are too young to face criminal charges but police want to talk to them about the attack, which happened last month but the details of which have only just been released.

Det Sgt Fiona Holland, of Hampshire police, said: "We need to make them understand the possible consequences of their actions."

In 2005, a girl of 12 hung a five-year-old boy from a tree with a wire noose in Dewsbury, West Yorks, because she was "in a bad mood".

He was just seconds from death when she removed the noose. The girl was given a 12-month

CAPTION(S):

FURY Mum Sharleen, centre, gran Jenny & aunt Katie CHILLING Rope used to hang little Bradley from tree