Autistic girl battered and bruised after being restrained at school

Claire Nossiter posted these pictures of her daughter Lyndsay's injuries online. Photo / Getty Images

A mother is suing her local council after her autistic daughter was injured when she was restrained by staff at school.

Claire Nossiter's daughter Lyndsay, then aged 16, suffered bruising to her face and a swollen jaw after she was restrained at Bothwellpark High in Motherwell, Scotland.

Her mother has since called for staff to face charges over the actions, which the local council insists were in the interests of safety, reports the Daily Mail.

After prosecutors decided not to bring two members of staff before the courts, Nossiter vowed to sue local authorities.

Nossiter told the Daily Record: "I'd had a call from school saying Lyndsay had 'kicked off' and been restrained... [but] she looked like she'd been in a car crash not at school."

Nossiter says Lyndsay, who suffers from Prader Willi Syndrome and autism and is now 20, was "routinely" restrained during her time at the school.

Claire Nossiter posted these pictures of her daughter Lyndsay's injuries online. Photo / Facebook

She wrote online: "If I had done this to Lyndsay she would have been removed from my care but because it's North Lanarkshire Council staff it's okay.

"On her medical notes the doctor wrote too many bruises to count. Our justice system should protect the most vulnerable."

Nossiter has also started a campaign to ban what she calls the "disproportionate restraint of disabled children".

On a petition which has now received more than 5000 signatures, she wrote: "The restraint technique used was degrading and humiliating for my daughter."

The Scottish Government has previously faced calls to tighten rules on when physical restraint can be used.

Authorities have previously insisted physical intervention should only be used as a "last resort, when in the best interests of the child" and not as a punishment.

A spokesman for the North Lanarkshire Council told the Daily Record: "Approved restraint techniques are sometimes required in the best interests of the pupil, other pupils and staff."