AGED 11, Thomas Wilson was ambushed on his way home from school and threatened with a kitchen knife.

A few years later, his hair was set on fire with a can of deodorant and a lighter in the changing room.

Those two incidents, which could have left him seriously injured, are part of the eight years of bullying he endured throughout primary and high school.

Thomas, of Beechbank Crescent, Kelty, was also called “stinky”, “poof” and saw others getting bullied as well for various reasons – one of his friends was slapped because she “dared to look at another girl as she went past”.

Now 34, Thomas is hoping to inspire others never to give up – not just because he's overcome bullying, he's also successfully quit smoking and lost more than five stone after putting his mind to it.

He believes the bullying started because he didn't wear the same clothes or sneakers everybody had – “my mum couldn't afford to buy them” – and had many female friends.

He recalls: “I used to run up the road every day after school and ended up having to go a different way when the bullies found out which way I was going home.

“They once held a knife to my throat and said they'd kill me if I told my mum.

“I told her anyway and she went to school and waited at the gates and told them to stay away from me.

“It wasn't just one but two or three of them. I was once five minutes from my house and couldn't run any further and they were right up behind me.

“I stopped up and picked up a stone and chucked it at them and I got into trouble for it because I was trying to protect myself – one of them told his parents. Nothing about the fact they had been picking on me for years.”

He claims the schools did nothing and describes his high school experiences as “disgusting”.

He says: “I reported every single incident but nothing was ever done.

“I went to the teacher after my hair was set on fire and got a telling-off for not speaking up earlier.

“I didn't let the bullies put me off my education – that would be letting them win. I don't know how I kept going – I think I'm just a strong-minded person.

“If I didn't have a group of friends to speak about it, I would not be here today.

“There are times when it does affect me but you just have to get on with life at the end of the day.”

After leaving school, Thomas worked for Fife Council then joined Premier Bingo in Cowdenbeath, where over 17 years he's risen from customer service assistant to manager.

However, the bullying has left mental scars – “I was never confident dealing with customers” – and he still sees his former tormentors in the area.

His self-confidence took a further knock when he started piling on the pounds after quitting a 10-year smoking habit 18 months ago.

However, Thomas applied the same mental strength that saw him through the bullying – through sheer willpower, sensible eating and exercise, he has gone from 17st 9lbs to 12st 4lbs in the last year.

He jokes: “Customers don't hold back with the comments and people were coming in and asking when I was due or that I was putting on the beef.

“It's not bullying, just people not thinking about what they say. But I didn't lose the weight for them. I did it for me.

“My mum had emphysema and other members of my family have had heart attacks and lung cancer. I thought, I don't want to be like that, and stopped smoking.

“I started when I was 21 and before I knew it, I was smoking 20 a day. Nowadays I go walking!

“I had confidence issues but as soon as I lost a lot of weight, I felt a lot better about myself – people were saying, by the way, you look absolutely stunning!”

He has done all this while taking care of his ill mum as well – and is also supporting a colleague on her own weight loss journey.

He hopes to encourage others to change their lives and show what can be achieved in just one year.

He explains: “I hope to inspire people and help them with my stories – don't give up.

“Don't let others put you down. Nobody is better or less than you. When you put your mind to something, you can achieve anything.”