A mother who says she was sexually abused for three years by her teacher at a South Ayrshire school has called for a public inquiry.

Maryanne Pugsley claims the man abused her at a “meeting place” in the middle of the countryside regularly from the age of 12.

There is still a tree at the spot with their signatures carved into the wood, Maryanne has claimed.

The mum-of-two said the traumatic incidents in the 1970s have been ingrained into every experience of her life and called for an inquiry into the abuse of children in Scottish state schools.

This is after her case was unable to be pursued through lack of evidence – with the council having no record of a complaint made back in the nineties.

Maryanne, 55, a classroom assistant, said: “Someone who abuses is not just going to do it to one person. If we had an inquiry victims would come forward.

“He was still teaching up until six or seven years ago. I don’t think he shows any remorse. I have walked past him occasionally in the supermarket. We need an inquiry. It is not rocket science.

“He groomed me and singled me out as the teacher’s pet. People knew something was going on. I had to cycle to school to facilitate going to these remote places. I was taken into the middle of the woods. It messes your life up.”

The mother-of-two who lives in a South Ayrshire village made a complaint to the council in the 1990s.

The alleged predator was suspended and then merely moved to another local authority.

She was told there was not enough evidence for the Procurator Fiscal.

In 2016 she went to the police but found out, devastatingly, that the council had no record of her complaint from the 1990s.

She was told the case would not reach a criminal court because of lack of corroboration, which requires two evidence sources.

After advice from MSP Brian Whittle, Maryanne took her case to the Scottish Parliament.

She lodged a petition last month calling for a public inquiry into the abuse of children in Scottish state schools and a review of the law of corroboration.

Maryanne, whose former surname is Fitzsimmons, said: “The nature of being the victim of child abuse involves isolation and the fear of telling others anything, invariably ruling out a witness.”

This month Maryanne will give evidence at the Truth Project in England because the teacher allegedly also abused her there. The independent inquiry is investigating child abuse in organisations.

It brings her some relief after being excluded from the in-care inquiry into child abuse in Scotland.

She said the impact of the abuse has “infiltrated every single aspect of my life.”

She added: “I am hypervigilant. I trust no-one.”

She added: “We need to stop the trauma carrying down to the next generation. This is for our kids.

This is not about revenge. I want this nation to get it right for every child.”

MSP Brian Whittle and his team have been supporting Maryanne after she approached them for help.

He said: “We decided after quite a lot of deliberation to that the best way to get it properly aired would be to bring it to the Public Petitions Committee.”

A council spokesman said: “South Ayrshire Council is sympathetic to anyone suffering as a result of the unresolved injustice of historical child abuse. We are also confident that there are far more robust procedures in place today which safeguard our children and young people.”