Police had warned doctors a mentally ill killer was plotting to mow down a group of schoolchildren just weeks before he ploughed into pupils killing a 12-year-old boy

Terence Glover killed Harley Watson and injured nine other children and an adult in a horrifying attack outside a school

Police warned medical staff that a mentally ill loner was planning to run children over just weeks before he deliberately ploughed his car into a group of pupils, killing a 12-year-old boy, an investigation by The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

Terence Glover killed Harley Watson and injured nine other children and an adult in a horrifying attack outside a school. 

Until now, the appalling incident in December 2019 has been reported as a 'hit-and-run', committed by a troublemaker who had been the subject of complaints to police for several years.

But we can reveal that Glover is a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of violence who refused to take medication or even acknowledge that he was ill. 

Shockingly, a leaked NHS report seen by the MoS shows that nine weeks before Glover killed Harley, a psychiatric nurse was told by police that he had been 'talking about running children over'. 

But the chilling warning was overlooked, and hours later a psychiatric team decided Glover was not dangerous enough to be detained in a secure hospital.

Until now, the appalling incident in December 2019 has been reported as a 'hit-and-run', committed by a troublemaker who had been the subject of complaints to police for several years. Shockingly, a leaked NHS report seen by the MoS shows that nine weeks before Glover killed Harley , a psychiatric nurse was told by police that he had been 'talking about running children over'

The damning internal report by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust also reveals:

The disturbing disclosures follow our report of how medics knew that a schizophrenic Albanian woman who cut a seven-year-old girl's throat on Mother's Day was a threat to children.

The appalling killing of Emily Jones in a park in Bolton happened less than four months after Glover killed Harley and injured ten others outside Debden Park High School in Loughton, Essex.

Harley's devastated mother Jo Wood, 33, last night spoke of her anger and demanded urgent reform of the way dangerous mentally ill patients are supervised in the community. 

'They need to change something because if they don't, just like Harley and Emily Jones, it will be moments until the next child or the next adult loses their life. And for what? It's so unnecessary.'

Glover has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Harley by diminished responsibility, and the attempted murder of Raquel Jimeno, 23, and six boys and three girls aged between 12 and 16. He will be sentenced on Friday.

The disturbing disclosures follow our report of how medics knew that a schizophrenic Albanian woman who cut a seven-year-old girl's throat on Mother's Day was a threat to children. The appalling killing of Emily Jones in a park in Bolton happened less than four months after Glover killed Harley and injured ten others outside Debden Park High School in Loughton, Essex

Harley had just left school on December 2, 2019, and was walking along Willingale Road in Loughton with a group of friends when Glover, driving a silver Ford Ka, mounted the pavement behind them and ploughed into them. Harley suffered a fatal head injury.

The leaked report seen by the MoS reveals that Glover had taken cocaine before the incident.

The MoS has learned that Glover was well known in Loughton as a deeply troubled individual. He first came on to the radar of local mental health services in October 2012 after he was arrested for threatening a neighbour with a knife. 

He claimed that a neighbour had posted information about him on the internet, resulting in school children pointing at him.

Glover was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and detained on a psychiatric ward at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow but was discharged five days later. In August 2015, he was arrested again after grabbing his ex-partner and slamming her head against a wall, causing bruising and swelling.

His mental health continued to deteriorate and by 2017 he was calling police on a weekly basis, falsely claiming that a neighbour was planting listening devices inside his house and monitoring him through the TV. 

An officer emailed Glover's GP, warning that he was 'becoming more paranoid' and that the frequency of calls to police were 'quite concerning'. The GP attempted to refer Glover to a mental health team but the leaked report says it appears the referral was rejected.

On March 5, 2018, according to the report, someone claiming to be a Metropolitan Police officer called the NHS 111 to give a stark warning: Glover was 'making threats of a vehicle-borne attack'. 

The informant explained that he had 'previous knowledge of Glover' but because Loughton is covered by Essex Police, he was 'unable to organise help himself without an abuse of power'.

Tragically, this extraordinary bid to sound the alarm failed. The anonymous caller was put through to a clinician who requested a police welfare check on Glover, but it is not clear whether this took place.

The 111 call then ended because 'there was no immediate threat to life'.

The last opportunity to stop Glover came on September 30, 2019. He had been arrested for breaching a public protection notice, and his mental state was assessed by a community psychiatric nurse in Harlow police station. 

Harley was a 'star pupil' at Debden Park High and was particularly good at maths. His favourite classes, however, were music, dance and drama and he dreamed of becoming an actor. (Above, flowers left near the entrance to the school in December 2019)

In her subsequent report, the nurse wrote that 'police have said he has been found staring at neighbours' children and talking about running children over'. She said another assessment should take place to decide whether he should be detained and warned: 'I am concerned that there is a risk to others, particularly neighbours/children.'

Later that evening, two doctors and a 'mental health practitioner' from Essex County Council arrived at the police station to carry out an assessment under the Mental Health Act. They did not, however, talk to the nurse, who had by then gone home after submitting her alarming report. 

They later said 'they could not recall' whether they read her report before making their own assessment. They also claimed they tried to phone the nurse but the call was not answered. The nurse claimed not to be aware of a call.

At least one assessor knew that Glover had been 'using threatening behaviour towards neighbours' children' that day but after being told by the police custody sergeant that there had been no signs of him 'acting strangely', they decided there were no grounds to detain him.

Miss Wood believes Harley would still be alive if Glover had been detained that night. And it remains unclear why Glover targeted the children – Miss Wood and Harley did not know the killer, or live nearby.

Julian Hendy, of the charity Hundred Families, which campaigns for families affected by mental health homicides, said: 'Yet again there were warnings about the danger someone posed to children which don't seem to have got through.'

Essex Police said: 'We had prior contact with Glover before the awful events of December 2, 2019, and made a number of referrals to mental health professionals following those interactions. 

Due to this prior police contact, we referred ourselves to the Independent Office for Police Conduct and have co-operated fully with their investigation. We await their findings and will act on any recommendations they make.'

The IOPC has finalised its report but it will not be published until after Harley's inquest.

The Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust said: 'Our findings will be shared with the coroner ahead of the inquest.'

Essex County Council said: 'We are awaiting the outcome of the coroner's inquest and will implement any recommendations.'

How many more mothers must grieve like Jo before mentally ill killers are taken off streets?

Jo Wood has watched CCTV footage that no mother should ever have to see. 

The images, captured by a camera near the entrance of Debden Park High School in Loughton, Essex, show the final minutes of her 12-year-old son Harley's life as he left school with a group of friends one December afternoon in 2019.

'They were just walking home, talking about the usual stuff that teenage boys talk about,' Jo tells The Mail on Sunday in an exclusive interview. 'And that was it. It just happened so fast.'

She is unable to watch the footage beyond this point but she knows only too well the horror of what happened next.

Proud mum: Jo Wood with Harley, smiling in his smart uniform shortly after starting at Debden Park High School

At about 3.20pm, a silver Ford Ka driven by Terence Glover, a violent paranoid schizophrenic, deliberately mounted the pavement behind Harley and his friends and ploughed into them. Harley, wearing a blue backpack and his school blazer, went under the car and suffered a fatal head injury.

Witnesses say Harley's friends were 'flung like dolls' as Glover careered along the pavement on Willingale Road, injuring nine other children and one adult. Some were knocked unconscious but none of the other victims suffered life-changing injuries. 

Tears stream down Jo's face as she explains that the CCTV footage showed how Harley was initially walking on the left-hand side of the group and was the furthest away from the road. 

Fatefully, about a minute before the attack, he skipped around the back of the group, placing himself next to the road – and directly in Glover's path.

'I don't know why,' she says. 'I don't know if his friends there were talking about something but he moves just about a minute before, so he is close to the road.

'They didn't stand a chance that day, they really didn't.'

Jo, 33, was in Central London, where she works as personal assistant at the headquarters of a major bank, when another mum from the school called and told her there had been an incident involving a car.

Panic-stricken, she hailed a taxi outside her work but after getting stuck in traffic, she jumped out and sprinted for Liverpool Street Tube station to head for home.

Above, Harley at the Louvre during a trip to Paris with his mother. Jo believes the NHS should be held accountable for failing to detain Glover under the Mental Health Act on five separate occasions, including just nine weeks before Harley's death

Meanwhile, Ryan, Harley's stepfather, and Jo's parents rushed to the school and found a scene of carnage, as traumatised children huddled under silver survival blankets and paramedics treated Harley.

Minutes later, Jo's friend called again with devastating news. 'My friend said to me they are resuscitating Harley. I was screaming and crying. I didn't know anything – I just knew he was being resuscitated.'

Jo arrived at the Accident & Emergency department of Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone minutes before Harley's ambulance pulled in and she watched in horror as a large team of medics fought desperately to save his life.

'I looked to my left and there was a woman on top of him on the bed and she was giving him chest compressions.

'They pushed him around to where I was standing and the doctor briefly explained what he was going to do. And all of a sudden, within about a minute, he looked at a nurse and he asked what the time was and I just knew that was it. And then they just stopped. I screamed and I begged them to keep trying and they just couldn't.'

Jo says it's crucial people understand that Glover's actions were deliberate and not some kind of terrible road accident.

A damning internal NHS report seen by this newspaper reveals police knew that Glover, who suffered paranoid delusions, had previously threatened to run children over in his car. Doctors, meanwhile, declined a string of opportunities to detain him in a secure hospital.

'People mustn't just see this as a hit-and-run,' Jo says. 'It's much bigger than that. There were so many warning signs which could have prevented it happening. What we have is a very, very long build-up which could have been stopped at any time. And people knew about it. People who had the power to stop him – they knew about it.'

She believes the NHS should be held accountable for failing to detain Glover under the Mental Health Act on five separate occasions, including just nine weeks before Harley's death.

Essex Police also have serious questions to answer, she says, including why Glover's car was not seized from him when officers knew he had threatened to use it as a weapon.

'They can't do everything, I understand that. But I am not convinced that they did everything they could have to prevent this happening,' she says.

Jo describes Harley as a 'kind, caring, selfless, intelligent and comical young man' who was an 'extremely loving person'.

'He was really funny and would make up jokes all the time. He was totally selfless as well – he would share everything.'

Jo and Harley's biological father split when Harley was two. His stepfather Ryan, 35, a mentor for primary school children from challenging backgrounds, joined the family three years later. 

Budding actor: On stage at London’s famous Sadler’s Wells Theatre. Harley was a 'star pupil' at Debden Park High and was particularly good at maths. His favourite classes, however, were music, dance and drama and he dreamed of becoming an actor

He and Jo also have a five-year-old daughter. Harley and Ryan became exceptionally close, bonding over a shared love of Tottenham Hotspur and in recent years enjoying the ritual of watching Spurs play during the Christmas break.

Jo describes a 'complete family'. Half-terms were busy with trips to theme parks or London tourist attractions, and they enjoyed a family holiday to Majorca four weeks before Harley's death. 'He always made friends on every holiday we went on and he always stayed in touch with them.'

Jo and Harley would also go away for what she called 'just us two' trips to celebrate his birthday.

In July 2019, they enjoyed a blissful weekend in Paris for his 12th birthday. 'I wanted to do something that made him realise how special he was to me,' she says. 'We had such a great time there. 

They have these pay-as-you-go electric scooters. We went to a big park and he could just about see over the handlebars. I remember him saying that was the best part of his trip – just scooting around together for an hour.'

Harley was a 'star pupil' at Debden Park High and was particularly good at maths. His favourite classes, however, were music, dance and drama and he dreamed of becoming an actor.

He had attended drama classes with performing arts organisation Theatretrain in Loughton and, to the immense pride of Jo, her mother and Ryan, performed in a show at Sadler's Wells Theatre in London on the weekend of his tenth birthday. A picture published today for the first time shows him on stage dressed as a science teacher in the performance of Special Measures.

Jo says: 'He was stood there at the front of the stage with everybody behind him. I just thought, 'Wow!' We were so proud of him. All the way home on the Tube, we were grinning and talking about it. Other passengers were talking to him because he was still wearing his costume. He was lapping it up, bless him.'

Harley was eager to learn a musical instrument and Jo and Ryan were planning to buy him a keyboard and pay for lessons last Christmas.

On the morning Harley died, Jo and her son had walked some of the way to school together. At Debden Underground station, they said goodbye. 

Jo caught a train in to London, while Harley carried on to school. 'We got to the station and I gave him a kiss and a hug and said, 'Have a good day. Love you.' I never imagined this would be the last time I'd see him alive.'

Jo had always given Harley strict instructions about walking home, warning him that he did not need to cross any busy roads and he should not look at his phone.

'He did exactly what I asked him to do,' she says. 'He did everything by the book that day, but he didn't stand a chance.'

The horror of what happened to her son has left Jo unable to walk along the left-hand side of a busy road. 'I won't walk down a road if the traffic is behind me. I will cross over. I will always walk facing the traffic. Because if you can't see what is behind you, you are putting your trust in strangers.'

After Harley's death, a pupil at his school launched a parliamentary petition calling for the Government to make it a legal requirement that every school has a line of bollards outside to protect children from vehicles.

Meanwhile, the leaked report seen by the MoS reveals Glover took cocaine, sleeping pills and two boxes of paracetamol before driving his car at Harley and his friends. 

In November, during a 15-minute hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, the 52-year-old admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and ten counts of attempted murder.

It was the first time Jo had seen Glover, who appeared via video-link from a secure hospital.

Jo is tortured by conflicting emotions. She hates the man who killed her son but is also angry that Glover did not get the medical support he so clearly needed.

'I despise the man for what he has done to my son and my family. But if he is as ill as everyone is telling me he is, he should have been better supported. Ultimately, if he had got better support I would still have my son. I hate him so much, I really do.'

Jo explains she has spoken out to ensure such a tragedy does not happen again.

'I want people to understand that these things are happening and they can be prevented. It shouldn't be just brushed under the carpet.'

She has described her overwhelming grief in a powerful personal statement prepared before Glover is sentenced on Friday.

'It wasn't just Harley's life that was taken that day. I lost my life as well. Now I merely exist so that my daughter can have a childhood with both her parents.

'I miss my boy beyond words and I would give my life for Harley to have his.'