The mother of a young boy who tells about his life on a Bradford council estate in a shock TV documentary to be screened tonight has accused programme makers of giving a distorted portrayal of him.

In the BBC programme Eyes of a Child, seven-year-old Jack is said to be notorious and boasts how he beats people up, saying: "I bust lips, bust noses and all sorts". But his mother, Julie Payne, of The Acre, Delph Hill, Bradford, who gave her consent for him to appear in the programme, said she believed her son had only been filmed "being a little boy and playing out''.

She said she thought people would be stunned by the programme and feared it would give a false impression of life in the area.

"He was just making himself look big for the cameras," she said. "He's a seven-year-old lad and no different to any other little boy. He's a good little boy but how many seven-year-old boys living on council estates do you know who don't get into trouble or fight?"

The BBC says Eyes of a Child features children from across the country talking with honesty and insight about living in poverty.

The programme also contains scenes of eight-year-old twin girls and their five year-old sister, also from Bradford, who tell how they do not attend school and stay up late watching cartoons then remain in bed until lunchtime.

The girls speak about drug dealing, with visitors calling for "foil things". Other residents in Delph Hill - part of the multi-million pound Royds regeneration scheme - have criticised the programme for leaving a distorted image. Pauline Robinson said: "I don't want us all tarred with the same brush. "

A BBC spokesman said: "It's a frightening fact that in today's affluent Britain, almost one in three children live in poverty."

Liam Hughes, director of city Social Services, said: "This important documentary revealed a family situation in Bradford which is a sad, but, unfortunately, not unusual reflection of some people's lives." The programme is on BBC1 at 9.30pm.

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