This Morning viewers were left devastated today as they listened to parents sharing their story about how bullies had driven their son to take his own life.
Mark and Anita Abel joined Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on the sofa and told them about how their beloved son Sam had taken his own life at the age of 14 last January.
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They explained the schoolboy had become a target for bullies at school and online.
Viewers were heartbroken when the Abels revealed how their son become so unhappy with life at Tudor Grange Academy School, Worcester, that he took his own life by jumping off a high building.
Anita went on to explain that his drastic actions came as a total surprise to her.
Speaking about the day Sam killed himself, she said: “I gave him a pound and I said, ‘Can you bring me a paper on your way back?’
“And he goes, ‘Yeah, I’ll be back by one’. And he didn’t come back.”
She went onto explain that they found out what happened to him when her daughter tried to get in touch with Sam when he was a no show.
“I was in bed at the time and I’ve never jumped out of bed as quick in all my life, because she just said, ‘Mum, it’s a paramedic, I think he’s dead’.”
Holly was visibly shaken by the story, and viewers watching the heartbreaking interview were universal in their sadness, demanding that something has to change in the laws surrounding bullying so that no more children feel like they have no other option but to end their life.
One wrote: “These beautiful children take their life because of bullies. It’s heartbreaking hearing the parents blame themselves”
And another said: “There constantly seems to be parents losing their children to suicide after bullying. Something has to change”
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Another viewer said that teachers need to play more of a part in stamping out this kind of behaviour: “Schools need to do more about bullying as well, they don’t do enough at all, I remember my own was completely useless.”
Another said that bullies should face criminal action: “All bullies should be open to prosecution, it won’t stop it but it may make a few think twice.”
Another concerned viewer said that bullies needed to be shown what could happen if they make someone’s life a misery: “Heartbreaking, to make any kid feel the only option is taking their life. Educate people on the consequences of their actions.”
This Morning encourage anyone going through this to get in touch with the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (UK) 1850 60 90 90 (ROI) or visit samaritans.org to find details of the nearest branch.