'Rude children as young as eight hurl sexual slurs in my own garden - it's disgusting'

A young woman living next to a primary school was left shocked and disgusted after a group of youngsters threw sexual jibes at her while she sunbathed in a bikini.

Hollie Hardy, 26, was in her garden when the children, thought to be between eight and 11, climbed up the fence and spotted her - launching a tirade of sexual remarks last week.

Hollie, from Wickford, Essex, was left reeling by the graphic nature of the remarks and said it raises serious questions about what children are exposed to online. She filmed the incident and posted it to TikTok where more than 400,000 people viewed it, sparking outcry.

Hollie said: "It is worrying to think they're losing their innocence so young. You have to think - how are they learning this stuff and what kind of people will they grow up to be? How are they going to speak to women in ten years time?"

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The business development manager had returned from holiday and wanted to top up her tan during the incident last Wednesday. Hollie, who has lived at her home for 11 years, said they sometimes had footballs land in their garden but no behaviour as bad as the comments.

She said: "A football came over into the neighbour's garden and the one of the children pulled themselves up over the school's fence. He said 'Oh there's a sexy lady' and it just escalated from there.

"They started saying 'get your m**** out' and 'get your t*ts out'. I sat up in my chair and I thought 'hang on a minute they're talking to me'.

"I didn't want to interact with them, or look at them, because I know children find these things funny so I went on my phone. My neighbour, who is an off duty police officer, heard it going on. He flashed his badge at the children and they ran off."

The neighbour then flagged down a nearby adult from the school and raised the situation - explaining that it was sexual harassment. Hollie said the woman, who identified herself as a safeguarding officer, said she would speak to the children - but they came back.

Hollie said: "They said things like 'suck my corey', 'suck my d**k', 'bend over' and 'I'll take you home'. Another child was making sex noises. I decided to film it and it felt like it went on forever. They kept running away and coming back. Eventually, during a gap when they'd left, I ran inside and went to the school myself."

Hollie said she showed staff the video who were 'appalled' and promised to speak with those involved. She also received a written apology via email.

But Hollie said the incident was a symptom of a wider issue on how young boys can be exposed to misogynistic and sexually explicit content. She explained: "I have a niece who will be starting school soon and I'm worried about what boys are saying to little girls.

"From the video, most people are absolutely appalled by this behaviour and think it is disgusting. But some people say that this happened 30 years ago too and this is just how children speak. A tiny minority have said 'can you blame a boy for being attracted to a woman?'

"I don't blame the school and I don't blame the parents. But as a society, we've got TikTok and video games, and I think people need to be more aware of what children are being allowed to see. It's just not acceptable."

A spokesperson for the school said: "The behaviour in this isolated incident goes against our values of mutual respect, both within our school and the wider community.

"As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we immediately investigated and took appropriate action. We will be speaking with all pupils to reiterate with them the standards we set for all those within our school."