Lifestyle - UK Schoolgirls go under the knife to avoid bullying

LONDON: An increasing number of bullied schoolgirls in Britain are asking for boob jobs to make themselves less prone to bullying. The girls claim that they need treatment to stop being targeted with playground taunts. Anti-bullying charities condemned the move and said that they were horrified that youngsters were taking such drastic action. "Children are very cruel and there's a lot of stigma attached to appearance," The Daily Star quoted Douglas McGeorge, president of the British Association of Aesthetic and Plastic Surgery as saying. Even parents are allowing their daughters to go under the knife, in an attempt to end their bullying. A family of a 14-year-old girl from Essex let her have a nose job after she was targeted over her appearance at three schools. The average cost of the operation was £3,500. McGeorge, a private surgeon, said her parents rang him after other attempts to end her bullying failed. He revealed having also given teens expandable breast implants.