Bullies’ bubbly victim, 16, found hanging by stepdad
Schoolgirl said her ‘heart is sinking’
A “BUBBLY and happy” schoolgirl hanged herself after being bullied, an inquest has heard.
Sian Waterhouse, 16, was found unconscious at home by her stepdad.
She died two days later in hospital. Sian had received mental health counselling after self-harming, and told how her “heart was sinking”.
Her mum Ann said: “I became aware there were issues with friendships… There were also issues with some bullying. I told her to block their numbers from her phone and as far as I was aware she did.”
Sian’s dad Paul said: “She had a bright bubbly personality but people are great at hiding their conditions.”
Her stepdad Phillip Noyland said: “She was fine until she got a mobile phone… she was always on it.”
Sian’s GP Dr Irfan Zafar saw her in December and was told she had fallen out with friends. He said: “There was bullying going on in the background. She was feeling distressed, anxious… She said she felt like her heart was sinking.”
Sian, from Morecambe, Lancs, was prescribed anti-depressants and saw the GP again in January. The hearing was told the tablets seemed to be working. Sian left a hand-written note near to where she was found hanging in February.
Police examined her phone. Det Sgt Sam Johnson said there was a lot of social media activity but no messages to “attribute how she was feeling that evening” or anything to suggest she was “being driven by the content of those messages”. Recording a narrative verdict in Lancaster, coroner James Newman said: “Sian was a bubbly, fun and happy young woman but undoubtedly hit by mental health issues.”
He said she had troubles “a normal teenager [does] but given her sensitive nature she felt it more than others”.