Horror as dad hangs himself live online Trolls told him: Why don’t you just do it? Your life isn’t worth it

clamp down on the abuse. The fellow user, too scared to give her name, said: “You could see they were making him the next target to push to suicide.

“That’s what they do. They pick on someone who is weak and make a game out of it. He was driven to his death.”

She added: “He was heartbreakingly honest about what was going on in his life and would say things like this was the only form of social interac- tion he had. He was very open about the fact he was depressed. Sometimes he would even cry on camera, saying his life was going down the tubes.

“He had recently broken up with his partner and he said he just wanted to come on this site for a giggle. He’d say he was desperate and felt hopeless.

“The vile people that use this chatroom used to tell him to kill himself. Since he died, they’ve been laughing about it, saying things like ‘He was a loser, he deserved it’.”

She claimed the man’s tormenters had even started harassing him in the “real world” – repeatedly phoning him.

“He was a builder and he said they had cost him jobs by calling potential clients and saying things like he was a drug addict,” said the user.

The Us-based website has more than 200 million registered users, with the software company behind it Peerstream making nearly £20million revenue last year. The user said: “I have been online since it happened and have asked people who saw it, ‘Did anyone seek help, did anyone do anything?’

“The chatroom administrator should have reported it to Paltalk officials, but I don’t believe that happened.”

A neighbour told how police smashed in the man’s front door on Wednesday morning. They are believed to have been eventually alerted by a Paltalk user.

Screaming

The man said: “He was always on Paltalk – he showed me the site last year. People go on it for banter but it turns into abuse and can get nasty. “You could hear him screaming at people. The language was alarming.”

Apps such as Facebook Live and Periscope also make it easy to broadcast real-time, live videos to internet audiences.

Paltalk could not be reached for comment. Anyone feeling suicidal should call the Samaritans on 116 123.

Voice of the Sunday People: P14