Anti-bullying week has inspired a Windsor councillor to share his own memories of suffering at school as a child.

Cllr Jon Davey, 55, of Testwood Road, represents Clewer and Dedworth West on the Royal Borough.

He said: "As someone who felt they were bullied as a child, I would simply say to those people, young and old, who feel bullied that the key to moving forward is not hating yourself.

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"I was born with an extensive strawberry birthmark.

"As a small child it didn’t matter but as I got into my teens I became incredibly sensitive about it and this sensitivity was identified by some as a weakness they could use against me… or more probably, I could use against myself.

"This early experience has given me a heightened sense of awareness when it comes to bullies and I give them short shrift in my life as it’s just too short to be wasting energy on negativity."

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During an enforced break from his career as a sales and marketing director caused by the pandemic, he has been working at Tesco and says: "What I'm seeing is an awful lot of people struggling mentally.

"The stress is caused because no-one can see an endpoint and seeing that rising stress has really made me think."

Cllr Davey has also had earlier memories of bullying revived since discovering that being a councillor leads to pot shots being taken on social media.

He says he has found having the right attitude and happy family life useful in countering this newer kind of bullying.

Cllr Davey is married to Alison and has two children Chloe, 25 and Charlie, 20.

Anti-bullying week runs until Saturday.