THE parents of a young child kidnapped at knifepoint and stabbed and beaten by two boys broke their silence last night to speak about his terrifying ordeal.

The mother and father of the eight-year-old victim, who cannot be identified, told how they had been through hell and were only thankful he had been returned to them alive.

They decided to talk to The Northern Echo in a bid to prevent any other youngsters from falling victim and to thank those who had supported them through the past few months.

The eight-year-old had been enjoying playing with friends at Taylor Square, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, when he was kidnapped at knifepoint by two boys, aged 11 and 13.

He was led down a path to a secluded area where he was forced to strip and told: "You are gay. We want to have sex with you."

The kidnappers exposed their genitals and demanded the petrified youngster perform sex acts on them but when he refused they stabbed him with a 7in knife, beat him and threw him in a bush.

His 47-year-old father said last night: "We know how the parents of Jamie Bulger must feel, it is the same circumstances virtually. He could have been dead.

"You read about things like this in the newspapers, but you just don't expect it to happen to your family.

"We are only glad he came back alive."

Teesside Crown Court heard how the youngster was eventually returned to the family's County Durham home by the two boys, who told his mother he had fallen into a bush.

Their victim went along with the pretence for fear he would be killed, but he eventually confided in a friend, who told the boy's mother and the police were called.

She said: "I knew something was wrong. He did not want us to see him with no clothes on, he said he couldn't sleep and was having flashbacks about what had happened.

"It has been devastating. I have felt every emotion rolled into one. We have good days and we have bad days. My son's confidence has been battered.

"In the last few days he has started to open up a bit. He is such a loving, happy-go-lucky boy and I hope that boy returns soon."

The youngster had to go to court following the incident in April last year, to give evidence after his 11-year-old attacker was deemed unfit to plead to charges of assault and kidnap.

A jury later decided he had committed the acts.

His 13-year-old accomplice, now 14, had already pleaded guilty to the charges. The pair are due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

The victim's parents said they hoped after the court case they would be able to start to rebuild their lives.

His mother said: "It is hard to come to terms with. I just can't imagine why they did it.

"This will follow them for the rest of their lives. I just hope they get what they deserve.

"If they are supervised then I hope they learn from it.

"I hope it never happens to anyone else."

The family said they now wanted to be left alone by the Press in order to move on from the incident, but wanted to thank everyone who had supported them.

The father said: "The police have been brilliant as have the family and the care workers who have supported him. The people on our estate have also been brilliant.

"We have lived here all our lives and it is a lovely place to live. There are lots of kids around and no one can believe what has happened.

"We now just want to put it behind us and move on and look to the future."