‘My boy could have died’-  Chesterfield mum slams police for slow response after kids almost strangle her son while playing disturbing 'Tap Out' game

When Kaie Wilmott, aged 10, went out to play on a field a few minutes away from his home in Chesterfield, he was asked by other children to play the game.

In the game, one person is held in a choke hold with their neck squeezed until they almost pass out, at which point they 'tap out' to tell the other player to stop.

Kaie said no multiple times – but claims the other youngsters did not listen and, after he refused to play, one older boy reportedly attacked him, pinning him into the floor, on his stomach and held his arms down, so he could not tap to ask him to stop. He than allegedly proceeded to strangle Kaie, as the boy turned blue.

Other children from the group were trying to help get the boy off Kaie but they were being chased away by two teenagers who found the game entertaining. Luckily the younger children managed to kick the attacker and get him off Kaie. By this point, Kaie had turned blue and purple.

Kaie’s mum, Lisa Hill, said: “When he came back home and told me what happened it sent my blood running cold. My son could have died, or I could have been sitting at his side in intensive care because he could be critically ill.

"He mentioned this game to me three or four weeks before and I sat with him and got him to explain in detail what this game actually was. I told him he wasn't allowed to play but the kids did not listen when he told them that.

"I imagine my son is not the only child that this has happened to. I want to raise awareness that this game is still circulating, how dangerous it is, and what repercussions can come from playing it.”

Following the incident Lisa posted on Facebook to warn other parents. In her appeal, she said: “ This game is extremely dangerous and can cause serious injury or even death. The way I felt and still feel after learning what happened to my boy has shook me to the core and if I can help prevent this happening again by sharing my story then it is the right thing to share this about this ‘new game’. Police are involved and investigations are being made. Please share this post to make others aware of this potentially deadly game.”

Lisa called the police on Wednesday, August 9, but said she did not hear anything back until Sunday morning when she decided to ring the officers again.

She was then told that the case wasn't allocated to the officer until Saturday and the officer who was allocated the case was only working nights and was meant to be off for the next four days. She emailed Lisa early on Tuesday, August 15, to say she would not be back at work until August 18.

Lisa said: “I was told by officers that this case was a priority case, because of the nature of what happened. But going from August 9 when I reported the incident, until August 18, that's nine days when nothing is getting done. And I don't think it's good enough. If it was adults, who had done this, the police would have been out virtually straightaway. Because it's children, I feel that they're not taking it seriously. But when this happened, my boy went blue and purple and could have died. This case could very well have been a murder case.

“You go to the police because they have an authority figure. And you expect the police to be able to deal with these situations appropriately and accordingly. And I was told that this case was a priority yet nothing has been done.

“I appreciate it wasn't the officer’s fault, but why would they assign this case to an officer who only works nights and has four days off? How are they supposed to contact me in order to get this situation sorted? It doesn’t make sense at all. I’m sure it could have been assigned to a different officer.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire Police said: “We received a report on August 9 that a child had been assaulted off Kinder Road by another child on August 7. All incidents are graded based on the threat and risk that is posed. With this incident having taken place two days prior, and the mother of the child confirming that her child was safeguarded an officer was assigned to the incident on August 12 and then made contact with the mother on August 15.

“We are sorry that the mother has not received the level of service that she expected and we will be making contact to understand her concerns in order to improve our response. Incidents such as this are taken seriously and a proportionate investigation will be caried out.”

The terrifying game first became a horrifying trend around a decade ago before rearing up again around two years ago. Videos can be viewed on several social networks.

The Tap Out trend has been responsible for at least one death over the last few years and goes by many different names, such as the fainting game, elevator and blackout.

The 'challenge' has also be attributed as the cause of multiple incidents which have seen children put on life support.

Experts have also warned adults to look for signs that young people have had a go at the deadly game, including severely bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, complaints of frequent severe headaches and disorientation after spending time alone.