UK TEEN BULLIED TO SUICIDE

An inquest has heard that a 14-year-old British boy killed himself after being bullied for years for being gay.

The Telegraph reported that the inquest in Essex heard the circumstances of Ayden Keenan-Olson’s death in March.

Ayden’s body was found by his father after he overdosed on prescription drugs.

It was revealed that Ayden, described as a sensitive boy and a keen musician, researched how to commit suicide online. He left two suicide notes detailing the bullying he was subjected to at school.

Three months earlier he had come out to his family as gay.

His tearful mother, Shy Keenan, a child abuse activist, told the court: “He said he was gay and had found somebody he thought he loved but it was not reciprocated. We didn’t care, we just loved him whatever.”

She also called on Google to block sites that instruct people how to kill themselves.

“We must remove suicide websites from the Internet – it’s got to happen. We can’t have young people taking their own lives whenever they face problems or difficulties.”

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray commented: “The court regrets the influence that such sites have on young people.”

Ayden faced years of bullying not only because fellow pupils believed he was gay, but also because of his part-Japanese heritage.

His school confirmed that Ayden had reported 20 incidents of bullying since 2010.

On Monday, LGBT rights group Stonewall launched a new campaign to tackle what it calls “endemic levels of homophobic language” in British schools.