A 16-year-old boy, Cameron, from Fareham, near Portsmouth, hung himself after being bullied at school for coming out as gay.
Cameron who struggled with autism and depression, came out as gay when he was a 12-year-old. His heartbroken mother, Kerry Warwick claims he was bullied by pupils at his school, with other boys even throwing things at him during lunch breaks.
His mental state continued to deteriorate after failing to get the GCSE grades in maths he needed to get into a gaming programming course at college.
Kerry Warwick said young Cameron had started self-harming as a result of the school bullying.
His mum Warwick speaking at the inquest hearing said: “They would bully him and isolate him. They would throw things like food at him, trip him up in the corridor, and call him horrible names like ‘autistic f***’
“The bullies would prey on the fact he was gay. He was ostracised, with pupils refusing to sit with him and calling him names.
“By Year 10, he had resigned himself to the bullying.”
Cameron was found dead in the woods last September, after failing to turn up to Fareham Academy where he was to study a computer science course.
At an inquest into his death, it was revealed that Cameron had also experienced a breakdown after ending an online romantic relationship with 18 year old Christopher Robertson.
Christopher talking at the inquest hearing said: “I believe Cameron was relentlessly bullied at school by other students for coming out as gay.”
Bill Ashcroft, Cameron’s school mate said to Sun UK : “One boy at school told him he was ugly.
He added: “He didn’t keep his mental health a secret, if something was wrong he would always talk to us about it.”
At Portsmouth Coroner’s Court, the Coroner Jason Pegg recorded Cameron’s death as a suicide.
He said: “Cameron had this background of autism – which resulted in bullying at times. Not only did he take his own life, he intended to do so.”
