A mum today told how she went "out of her mind" with worry after her son vanished for more than five hours after he was chased by a gang of thugs.

Susan Bulling's 13-year-old son Sean was having a sleepover with three friends in Rayside, Basildon, when they went out for some fresh air at 11pm on Friday.

In nearby Church Road they were confronted by a gang of seven "older" teenagers, aged around 19, who chased them.

The group got split up and Sean sprinted off, ending up in Mistley End, Vange. Disorientated and scared, the youngster hid in a driveway and was finally found by his friend's dad at just before 5am.

Meanwhile, mum Susan, 40, of Homefields Road, Benfleet, was worried sick - she was at Basildon police station when Sean was discovered.

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