CHANTELLE Houghton's former headteacher today expressed his disappointment at the Celebrity Big Brother winner's claims she was bullied so much she would "dread going to school".

Bromfords School head Richard Thomas spoke out after Chantelle, 22, told how she was bullied at the Wickford school during the launch of the Bullywatch anti-bullying campaign in central London on Wednesday.

Chantelle, from Charlotte Avenue, Wickford, said the bullying had been something she had kept to herself.

Her former headteacher, however, said he was shocked to hear she had been bullied and today invited her back to Bromfords to promote her campaign.

Mr Thomas said: "Bromfords School would like to strongly support Bullywatch and we would be delighted to invite Chantelle back to her school and to support her campaign in promoting anti-bullying in the Essex area.

"We are a little disappointed that Chantelle has made public statements that she was bullied at school without us being able to respond directly.

"However, I'm sure she did not intend to infer that the school was at fault, indeed the comments from Chantelle seem to suggest that the problem was that she did not tell anyone that the bullying was happening."

Published Friday, March 24, 2006