A FAMILY say their lives have been torn apart by their desperate battle to secure the best education for their severely disabled son.

Gary and Sara Lynch say since starting Evergreen Primary School, in Bishop Auckland, County Durham last September their son Sonny Bradford, eight, has been bruised, bitten, lost a tooth and spent two weeks with a pea lodged up his nose.

They say Sonny, who does not speak, cannot sign, is autistic and has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), complex learning disabilities, extremely challenging behaviour and the functioning capacity of a one-year-old, regressed severely, so he became increasingly distressed, soiled himself and refused to eat.

They begged Durham County Council to accept Evergreen could not care for Sonny and send him to Northern Counties School (NCS) in Newcastle.

Last week (April 13), days before an education tribunal, the council relented; and Sonny starts at NCS on Monday (April 27).

Mr and Mrs Lynch, of Ushaw Moor, are ecstatic – but the legal battle has cost them £20,000 and driven them to the brink of financial, emotional and family breakdown.

Mrs Lynch, 33, said: “I can’t wait for Monday. I’m absolutely ecstatic. It’s the first day of the rest of Sonny’s life.

“It’s crucial he’s in the right school environment. That’s all we’ve ever wanted.”

But Mr Lynch, 49, added: “This has destroyed us utterly and completely. It’s absolutely disgusting.

“This school is the one chance Sonny has of independence.”

As far back as October 26, an educational psychologist concluded he could find no evidence to suggest Evergreen could effectively meet Sonny’s needs.

But the council said sending him to NCS would be a waste of public money.

Officers claimed it would cost an extra £12,000 a year, although the tribunal judge later ruled the actual figure would be “just over £2,000”.

The family moved north from Essex last summer, with Mr Lynch selling his business and his wife giving up a law degree.

Since then, he been unemployed and she has had to take time off work due to Sonny’s case.

“It’s absolutely killed us,” Mrs Lynch said.

The family now wants the council to apologise and pay their costs.

Caroline O’Neill, the council’s head of education, said: “We would always try to meet a child’s needs within one of our own schools where possible, however, following further assessment we are now making arrangements for a place at NCS.

“The tribunal process and independent legal advice is free but families may choose to pay for further, additional legal advice. We cannot go into the specific details of individual pupils.”