Some of Bradford’s most vulnerable girls have been bullied so badly they have been scared to go to school, according to new research released today.

Bradford-based charity Rathbone found that, nationally, only 20 per cent of respondents to a survey were happy with their appearance, while around 40 per cent had missed meals to lose weight and fit in.

More than half the respondents said they had been bullied because of their looks, with comments being mainly weight-related.

A number of red-haired girls admitted to being bullied about their hair colour.

Two young Bradford women had missed almost six months of school through fear of bullies.

Peter Gibson, spokesman for the Cheapside-based Rathbone Youth Charity, said: “All bullies are cowards, but persecuting the weakest takes a special kind of nastiness.

“It was heartbreaking to learn that young women had been punched and kicked simply because they couldn’t afford the best clothes or humiliated on the internet due to their size.”

For one Bradford teen, bullies who taunted her because they said she looked, “too male” caused her to have very low self-esteem.

The 19-year-old, who ended up developing an eating disorder, said: “I just wanted to be like the other girls, skinny and liked.”

The Rathbone charity offers unemployed youngsters the opportunity to gain skills and qualifications.

It allows them to move on to college or work and enables 16 to 18-year-olds to access apprenticeships.

Mr Gibson added: “Nationally, the demonisation of young people is rife and there is also far too much pressure on women in particular to look a certain way.

“It is up to all of us from teachers to parents and magazine editors to programme makers to celebrate women for who they are.

“As our survey shows, the putting-down and name-calling is simply ruining young lives.”

To learn more about Rathbone, e-mail bradford@rathboneuk.org, visit rathboneuk.org or phone 07879 248722.