A TEENAGER was imprisoned by former classmates and attacked with a hot iron because of a remark he made on Facebook.
Alex Bicknell, 18, lost his Blackberry mobile phone and used the social networking site to accuse three other youths of stealing it.
The youths later tricked Mr Bicknell into meeting them and took him to a house, where they beat him and put the iron on his hands.
"I thought I was going to die," said Mr Bicknell, of Lauriston Drive, Old Basford.
"One of them came up and punched me in the face and then everyone else joined in and kept punching me.
"At one point they had an iron which they pressed on my hands – there's a good chance I'll have those scars for life.
"For all of this to happen out of a Facebook comment is scary. I just can't believe how badly they reacted."
Mr Bicknell, who attended Ellis Guilford School, suffered cuts, burns and bruises.
His assailants, who also went to the school in Basford, were: Benjamin Brandford, 16, of Oaktree Close, West Bridgford, Dayle De-Ville, 17, of Augustine Gardens, Rise Park, and Victor Unczur, 17, of Fountains Court, Beeston.
They appeared at Nottingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and causing grievous bodily harm with intent and were locked up for four years.
The incident brought a warning to young people about their behaviour online. Professor Mark Griffiths, psychologist at Nottingham Trent University, said it was common for social media interactions to lead to violence.
He said: "One of the main reasons why behaviour online is very different from it offline is because it provides a disinhibiting experience. This is where people lower their emotional guard and become much less inhibited in their actions."
