A teenager was found hanged at her home after suffering months of bullying by anonymous ‘trolls’ on a notorious website.
Hannah Smith, 14, was taunted on Ask.fm – linked to at least four teenage deaths in the past year – over her weight, the death of an uncle and an apparent propensity to self-harm.
She had also been urged to ‘drink bleach’ by the anonymous tormentors, friends said.
The tragedy comes amid a continuing escalation of the abusive and threatening ‘trolling’ of high-profile women on Twitter.
In the aftermath of Hannah’s apparent suicide, her devastated father, David, took to Facebook to urge parents to stop their children using the Latvian-based Ask.fm, which has been condemned as a ‘stalker’s paradise’ by child safety experts.
Mr Smith called for its creators to be prosecuted for manslaughter.
Less than a fortnight before her body was found early last Friday, Hannah begged her tormentors – who can hide behind a cloak of anonymity on the site – to stop the abuse.
In another post, she told one bully who had branded her an ‘ugly f*****’ how she had already attempted suicide and added: ‘Getting things like this from people that like to hide behind there (sic) computer screen doesn’t make me feel any better.’
Writing on Facebook on Saturday, Mr Smith, a 45-year-old lorry driver, said: ‘I have just seen the abuse my daughter got from people on ask fm and the fact that these people can be anonymous is wrong.
‘The person that created this website should be done for manslaughter.’
Mr Smith split up with his first wife Tracey, 35, seven years ago and raised daughters Hannah and Joanne, 16, with his second wife Deb in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.
Taunts and abusive comments written in teenage ‘text speak’ remained visible on Hannah’s Ask.fm profile yesterday, which Hannah last used on Thursday. In her final days, she had been branded a ‘cow’ and ‘fat sl**’ – but had also been praised on her appearance and told she was ‘fit’ by others.
On July 20, a vile troll wrote, ‘u ugly f*** go die evry1 wuld be happy’, prompting Hannah to reply: ‘yes, i may be ugly, but you obviously have an ugly personality to tell people to ‘go die’!’
Other hurtful posts urged her to ‘do us all a favour n kill ur self’ and ‘go comit suicide’.
Hannah replied: ‘wouldn’t you fell bad if I did ey?’
Just the day before she apparently killed herself, Hannah posted a picture message on Facebook which read: ‘You think you want to die, but in reality you just want to be saved.’
Her distraught father yesterday declined to add to his Facebook postings, while Hannah’s mother could not be contacted.
Hannah’s boyfriend Kris Cooper, from Leicester, wrote on Facebook: ‘RIP Hannah Jayne Louise May Smith. Heaven has gained a beautiful angel.’
Friends and family also set up a Facebook tribute site, writing: ‘Hannah Smith; a beautiful young girl who everyone loved very much; who decided to take her own life after being bullied; we will miss you princess; love you.’
Police are examining Hannah’s computer and mobile phone.
Latvian-based Ask.fm has more than 60million users and lets anyone see the names, photographs and personal details of boys and girls as young as 13.
Users post comments that range from insults to sexual advances and threats of violence. It has been heavily criticised by anti-bullying charities because it allows users to post anonymous comments or questions – often of a sexual or insulting nature.
Last autumn two Irish schoolgirls – Ciara Pugsley, 15, from Leitrim, and Erin Gallagher, 13, from Donegal – took their own lives after being subjected to anonymous bullying on the site.
In April, Josh Unsworth, 15, from Lancashire, was found hanged after suffering months of abusive messages.
Charity BeatBulling said one in three young people were bullied online. Founder Emma-Jane Cross said: ‘Young people, as in the tragic case of Hannah Smith, face a daily barrage of online abuse, death threats and harassment.
‘Adults need to set an example for young people and we all have a responsibility to tackle this type of behaviour and keep our children safe. We want internet service providers, schools, the Government and the police to come together and produce a UK anti-bullying strategy.’ Mail online
