Teenager ‘kills herself in cry for help over allergy to wi-fi’
A GIRL killed herself in a ‘cry for help’ after developing an unbearable allergy to wifi, an inquest heard.
Jenny Fry, 15, complained of tiredness, headaches and bladder problems apparently caused by electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS).
Her mother, Debra, said wi-fi ‘killed her daughter’ as she was driven to despair by the condition’s symptoms. She had a ‘heated exchange’ with Jenny’s teachers about use of wi-fi in school but they ‘wouldn’t listen’, the inquest was told.
When staff punished Jenny for leaving classrooms containing wireless routers, they made her ‘take detentions in rooms that were making her ill’, her mother said.
Jenny’s body was found hanging near her home in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, on June 11. Coroner Darren Salter delivered a narrative verdict after ruling it was possible the Chipping Norton School pupil had not intended to kill herself and was making a cry for help.
No medical notes were presented about Jenny’s condition, which is not recognised by UK health bod- ies despite a growing number complaining they are affected. Jenny started showing signs of EMS in November 2012 when wi-fi was installed in their home.
‘Jenny was getting ill and so was I. I did some research and found out how dangerous wi-fi could be so I had it taken out of the house,’ Miss Fry told Oxfordshire Coroners’ Court. ‘Both Jenny and I were fine at home but Jenny continued to be ill at school in certain areas.
‘She was receiving lots of deten- tions – not for being disruptive in class or misbehaving but often because she used to take herself out of the classroom to find another where she was able to work.
‘I took lots of information into school to show the head teacher, Simon Duffy, but he said there was equally the same information available claiming wi-fi was safe.’
After the hearing, dental nurse Miss Fry, 55, said her daughter had left letters saying she could not cope with her allergy any more.
Miss Fry and partner Charles Newman, 60, a pilot with whom she has two other children, are campaigning for wi-fi to be removed from schools, and urging the Government to research EHS.
Mr Duffy said school governors were ‘content that the installed equipment complies with the relevant regulations and will ensure this continues to be the case’.
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