Twins’ trauma

IT’S Jedward as we’ve never seen them before — battered and bruised.

The twins have joined MTV presenter Laura Whitmore, actress Saoirse Ronan, X-Factor judge Louis Walsh and Westlife star Mark Feehily in a hard-hitting campaign to target bullying, allowing themselves to be photographed as bullying victims for publicity posters.

Feehily, who came up with the idea, said he had been inspired by his own experiences of bullying.

“I know at first hand how the impact of being bullied as a teenager can quite literally last a lifetime and I thought that, if we could involve well-known ISPCC ambassadors, perhaps people will think twice about bullying or indeed allowing bullying to happen,” he said.

Jedward also spoke of their eagerness to lend their support to the project:

“We were bullied at school, but we were lucky in one way as we had each other.

“We know first-hand how horrible bullying can be and so we jumped at the opportunity of being part of this campaign.”

Last year Ireland’s Childline service received around 2,300 calls and messages everyday from young people, with almost a quarter of these contacts relating to abuse and welfare, including bullying and issues around mental health.

ISPCC chief executive Ashley Balbirnie said: “We are very grateful to Mark Feehily and our ambassadors for their support in raising awareness of this important issue.”