Malta brings out the best in Nottinghamshire boy

When a teenage boy was randomly stabbed in the UK last year, Josie and Scott Powell feared that their son could be the next crime victim.

Determined to provide their 11-year-old with a safe place to grow up, the family packed all belongings and moved to Malta in August.

The family used to live in Nottinghamshire and picked the island as its new home because Mrs Powell's parents had moved to Xlendi to retire some years earlier. "So we knew it was safe to bring up a family," Mrs Powell explained. Her perceptions were reinforced through recent statistics showing that Malta's reported crime rate has been dropping consistently and fell by just over 35 per cent since 2005. Last year, reported crime declined by nearly 13 per cent compared to 2008.

"We're already seen a change in Sean. Back in the UK he didn't go out much but here he feels safer and seems to be coming out of his shell," Mrs Powell said.

The boy said he was finding it easy to make friends in his new school in Naxxar. In fact, during the school prize day last month, he was rewarded for helping a friend who had been injured. His friend had jumped over a wall during the break at school, fell and cut his knee open. The injured boy's parents could not be reached so Sean told the school to call his father to give his friend a lift home.

As he held his newly-acquired prize certificate, Sean explained he did not think he had done anything extraordinary.

But his parents have noticed their son becoming more outgoing since they moved to the island with their pets: a German shepherd, a snake and a turtle. They believe this boils down to the fact that the boy feels safer here. Whereas in the UK Mrs Powell would not trust him to walk down the road alone, in Malta she has no problem allowing him to go to the nearby stationery.

Official figures show that over 150 children a week are being hospitalised in the UK following violent attacks or accidents at schools, the Telegraph reported. Just a few weeks ago, a group of teenagers were charged over the brutal stabbing of a 15-year-old at London's Victoria Station. Detectives believe the murder was a pre-planned fight between rival school gangs.