A COUNTY Durham teenager who was outed by his dad as a vandal on social media has been turning his life around thanks to a boxing club.

Seaham dad Arthur Ord said he was “embarrassed” when he saw photos on social media of a youth damaging a bus stop and realised it was his son. 

 

But he said he decided to put up his own post admitting that it was his son to try and change his behaviour.

He said: “I saw some photos of criminal damage and realised it was my son.

“I felt quite embarrassed about it so I put my own post up to admit it was my boy. It was very hard to do it but something drastic had to happen.

“He just needed to be stopped in his tracks and I believe, hopefully, fingers crossed that I’ve done that.”

Thirteen-year-old Lucas was spoken to by police, who have worked with him to give him a second chance.

He is making good progress with the young offending team and has become a keen participant at Seaham Boxing Club, which was set up in January with the help of Seaham Neighbourhood Policing Team.

Coach Shaun Morton said: “Mr Morton said: “We’ve all been young and we’ve all made mistakes. It’s about not letting those mistakes define the rest of your life and learning from those mistakes.”

The Northern Echo:

Shaun Morton, who runs Seaham Boxing Club

 

He added: “Lucas is here and has been here for two weeks. Hopefully this is the start of Lucas learning from his mistakes and getting involved in the club.

“Hopefully he will be one of our harder fighters and going out and competing.”

Since the club started there has been a 30 per cent drop in antisocial behaviour in the town.

Inspector Rachel Stockdale said: "Sometimes the best way to change someone’s behaviour is to offer them a second chance.

"Since the club has been set up, we've seen reductions of anti-social behaviour in the Seaham area of over 30 percent.

"It's giving young people a chance to come together around a shared interest, learn some really key life skills, and have an alternative to causing a nuisance in the community."