THE family of a young boy, who was laughed and stared at while enjoying his time at a large play park, have been left angry and upset at people's ignorance.

Charlene Hamilton, 40, from Shipley revealed it "broke her heart" when her daughter, Shannon Ogden, told her what had happened on what was supposed to be a fun day out.

The 17-year-old and her partner took her brother, Noah, to an adventure attraction on Friday, October 9.

Both Ms Ogden and Ms Hamilton described eight-year-old Noah, who has down syndrome and autism, as a champion, who likes to run around and be noisy, but equally enjoys playing on the iPad.

Ms Hamilton said: "He's funny, loves dancing and modern music.

"He's stubborn, really imaginative, likes to do 'YouTube videos' - he doesn't actually go on, but he thinks he's filming them.

"He likes TikTok dances, he's smart, clever and really kind - if you're upset, he'll give you a big cuddle".

But while Noah was on his fun day out, he was subjected to disrespectful and hurtful treatment that ruined it for the family.

Ms Ogden said: "It was meant to be a nice little day out for him, but people just don’t know how to treat others with respect.

"He takes a while to walk around and to get up stairs.

"There were adults behind him, laughing, huffing and puffing while he was walking down the stairs.

"He likes to run everywhere he goes - people were laughing at him for that.

"We had some dinner at the café and a child came over and stared at him.

"He then fetched his mate, both came into Noah's face, pointed and said, 'look at him'.

"My partner tried to speak to the kid's mum, but she brushed it off, ignored it and said 'you can't say that'."

Ms Ogden added that Noah was stared and laughed at "all day long", and she could tell he was bothered when they got home.

She said: "It's really upsetting - it makes me angry and I'm more shocked every time that someone can say those sort of things to his face.

"I think he's confused when people laugh at him and stare at him just because he's a little bit different - he doesn't have many friends.

"Most of the time he does brush it off, but he does get confused."

"Just think, if it was any other child.

"Think, would they like it, if it was their child, or one of their family?

"Noah has a way of showing things.

"He was very shouty when we got home, so obviously it's bothered him."

When she found out from her daughter, Ms Hamilton was shocked people are still so ignorant and worries when Noah becomes more aware about himself and others.

She said that her little boy sees himself as no different and that Noah was like a "little celebrity" at the mainstream school he went to until he was seven.

Families who Ms Hamilton didn't even know would say "hi" as the youngster left for the school day.

On hearing about the situation at the play park, Ms Hamilton said: "It broke my heart.

"I just think people judged him by the way he looks, but obviously he's my little boy and he's generous.

"Who would even do that?

"I thought we were in different times, a different world.

"When I go out, I don't notice if people are looking. I feel sad for them that they did that.

"I'm dreading the day that Noah is going to notice what they're looking at."

Ms Ogden took to Facebook to share her frustration at how her brother had been treated.

The post, which was put up on Friday, October 9, has amassed more than 3,500 shares and 7,700 reactions.

There has been a swell of support for Noah and his family, with more than 2,000 comments, ranging from people expressing their outrage at the situation, to those sharing their own experiences.

Ms Ogden said: "I didn't think that many people would react to it.

"I'm glad that people know that it's offensive and still happens.

"Especially when adults don't stop, it's just frustrating."

Ms Hamilton said: "That is what I would expect, the goodness of people to outweigh the negative views of others and it just shows people are outraged with what happened.

"Noah is just a little boy.

"Any adults who were there on the day and see the post, I just hope they do something different in the future.

"We shouldn't have to raise awareness, but if we can, it's a bonus."

Ms Ogden said her final message to others would be to educate themselves.

She added: "If everyone taught their children not to stare and not to laugh at others, it would be a lot easier, wouldn't it?"

Meanwhile, Ms Hamilton believes its a case of "acceptance" of people being different, rather than necessarily knowing the ins and outs of a disability.

She said: "It's about acceptance. It's not so much promoting disabilities, more accepting them.

"If you see someone's different, just move on with your day.

"If you're not sure about anything, look it up on the big wide web and you can research anything you want.

"If someone asks a question, I'll happily answer it, if I can."