School kids who whipped and tied up a black pupil during their lunch break will not face criminal charges, police have said.

The children at the school in Bath subjected the pupil to a 'mock slave auction' and apparently called him a "n*****" and a "cotton picker".

And it is understood the group of seven white teenagers staged the event during a lunch break - chaining the child to a lamppost on school grounds while whipping him with thin branches.

This week, police concluded their investigation into the incident which officers had treated as a hate crime at the unnamed school in Bath, Somerset in January.

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A spokesman for the police said all seven youths admitted their involvement in the incident that took place on January 22.

However, none of them were charged with a criminal offence.

Instead, two of them agreed to participate in "community resolution", a form of restorative justice led by the victim that does not result in a criminal record.

Had the two youths not accepted this alternative, one of them would have been prosecuted.

The boys knew this when making their decision, a police spokesman said.

The victim's family were consulted about this course of action and their wishes were taken into account, the spokesman said.

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Avon and Somerset Police told Bath Live: "Every aspect of the incident has been taken into account, including the wishes of the victim's family, and as a result two boys will be subject to a Community Resolution process for their part in the offence."

The police spokesman said: "Community resolutions are a powerful tool focusing on reparation and are considered to be the most appropriate outcome in this case.

"We take hate crime extremely seriously and recognise the devastating impact it can have on victims and their lives.

"There's no room for this type of crime in Avon and Somerset and we'll continue to work with our partner agencies and communities to stamp out offences motivated by prejudice or hate."

The Crown Prosecution Service said there was enough evidence to charge only one of the seven youths with an offence.

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That youth was given an "out-of-court disposal order", enabling justice to take place outside the court system.

A police spokesperson said: "A police investigation has been carried out into an incident at a Bath school on January 22, 2018. The incident has been treated as a hate crime.

"As part of our investigation we've been liaising fully with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and working closely with other partner agencies, including SARI [Stand Against Racism and Inequality], as well as the victim and his family.

"Every aspect of the incident has been taken into account, including the wishes of the victim's family, and as a result two boys will be subject to a Community Resolution process for their part in the offence.

"Community resolutions are a powerful tool focusing on reparation and are considered to be the most appropriate outcome in this case.

"Community resolutions are always rigorously monitored to ensure they are effective and the involvement of SARI will be a key part of this process.

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"We take hate crime extremely seriously and recognise the devastating impact it can have on victims and their lives. There's no room for this type of crime in Avon and Somerset and we'll continue to work with our partner agencies and communities to stamp out offences motivated by prejudice or hate."

In response to subsequent questions, police said: "All youths admitted to being present at the incident as well as their roles during this incident to varying degrees.

"Having reviewed all the evidence, CPS and police felt CR [community resolution] was the most appropriate outcome for two of the group.

"CR has to be accepted by those taking part and if not accepted the CPS were only willing to charge one youth. However, this was explained and CR was accepted by both youths.

"By law, criminalising youths must be deferred when it is felt rehabilitation would better serve, and both CPS and police agreed rehabilitation through the CR process was the most appropriate outcome for this incident."

The CPS said in a statement: "The Crown Prosecution Service received a file of evidence from Avon and Somerset police on 16 May 2018 relating to an incident involving seven youths at a school in Bath, Somerset on 22 January 2018.

"Following receipt of this file, one youth admitted his involvement in the incident and was given an out-of-court disposal order.

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"The evidence was considered in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and the CPS concluded there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the remaining six youths.

"The CPS, through the police, has liaised with the victim's family and they have been consulted prior to the decision being made."