A FORMER victim of bullying is going back to school to help break the cycle of abuse in the next generation.

Hypnotherapist Tom Bugler, 30, is providing free courses to schools and youth groups to boost self-esteem and increase assertiveness.

He’s also teamed up with Lee Grinrod, a martial arts instructor and world heavyweight Muay Thai champion, who will be teaching self-defence techniques.

Tom, who lives in Weymouth, said it was important to him to help youngsters going through the same situation he did almost 20 years ago.

He said: “I was overweight in school, I was shoved in bins, urinated on, set on fire.

“I have a three-year-old son and it does worry me that he could go through the same thing.”

The effect of bullying stayed with Tom for years, and he decided not to go to college, or university to fulfil his dream of joining the Royal Air Force.

He said: “My life could have been so different. I am 30 now, and I’ve really only just figured out what I want to do in the last few years.

“The only constant thing for me in all that time was that I wanted to help victims of bullying.”

The courses are for groups and designed to offer early intervention.

Tom said: “I may do a session, and it might not be something they need right now, but hopefully something will resonate and it will come in useful if they ever need it in the future.

“It’s a double-pronged approach. It’s partly about standing up and saying ‘I’m not taking this’ but also about teaching them to take a step back and realise what the bully is saying is not true.”

But the sessions don’t just aim to help victims of bullying.

Tom added: “No-one wakes up in the morning with the intention of making someone else’s life miserable. It can be a self-esteem issue – they pick on someone to take the attention away from themselves, or it could be that they are not dealing with stresses and anxieties in their life.

“Hopefully these sessions are something all kids will get a real lift out of. It’s designed to put them all on a level playing field.”

Early intervention is something Tom recognises could have made a real difference to his own life, when he was being bullied.

“When you’re 13 it’s not easy to talk to a parent or teacher and admit you don’t like yourself, that other people have noticed that and are picking on you for it.

“What I would tell them is that things do change and get better. It’s ok to ask for help and there are resources out there.

“You should be proud to ask for help, it means you are a strong person.”

For more information, visit www.tombugler.com or search Teep Muay Thai on Facebook.