Teen overdosed after bullying

THE teenage bullying victim took her own life because she could not cope with cruel Facebook taunts.

Britney had been a pupil at Rosshall Academy in Glasgow, where her family said a small group of bullies set out to make her life misery.

The abuse started in the playground but quickly spread to the social media site, effectively leaving vulnerable Britney with no escape.

It meant she was subjected to vile comments 24 hours a day, a toll which would have tragic consequences.

At one point, Britney wrote on her Facebook page: “Words do hurt people and people need to start to realise that before it’s too late.” But her plea did nothing. Mum Annette claims the abuse lasted years, slowly wearing down her previously outgoing daughter.

In private, Britney was self harming, cutting her arms and legs, though this is thought to have stopped six months or so before her overdose.

Unknown to everyone but herself, a threshold was crossed when Britney visited the Thurston Road medical practice at 4pm on June 22, 2016, for her appointment with her doctor.

She was prescribed with 84 tablets and told to take up to three a day to help with her anxiety.

During the early hours of July 7, Britney contacted a friend twice, saying she intended to take an overdose.

She was found a short time later by her parents in a collapsed state and pronounced dead at 5.30am in hospital.

The police later confirmed Britney died as a result of intoxication caused by the drug.

There was no fatal accident inquiry.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council has since said Rosshall Academy operates a strict zero-tolerance approach to any forms of bullying and “will investigate and take the appropriate action to any claim made”.

Annette – who visits her daughter’s grave every day – is determined lessons will be learned from her death.

“I can’t afford for my girl’s loss to be in vain,” she said.

“I’ll fight to win changes for her.”