THE mother of a Worcester teenager who took his own life after being bullied online has penned a powerful open letter calling on people to do more to prevent other young lives being lost.

Felix Alexander took his life, aged just 17, when he placed himself in front of a train at Abbotswood Junction, in Norton, just outside Worcester, in April.

Senior Worcestershire coroner Geraint Williams recorded a verdict of suicide during an inquest into Felix's death in July.

Now Felix's mum, Lucy Alexander, has written a letter shining a light on some of the suffering her "wonderful" son had to endure and appealing for youngsters, parents and teachers to ensure other families don't have to go through similar grief.

She tells how Felix was bullied online by people who he had never even met and how the cruel abuse became "overwhelming" and too much for him to bear.

"I write this letter not for sympathy, but because there are so many more children like Felix who are struggling," she says.

"His confidence and self-esteem had been eroded over a long period of time by the bullying behaviour he experienced in secondary education.

"It began with unkindness and social isolation and over the years, with the advent of social media, it became cruel and overwhelming.

"People who had never even met Felix were abusing him.

"He did make friends at his new school and the teaching staff found him to be bright, kind and caring.

"He was however so badly damaged by the abuse, isolation and unkindness he had experienced, that he was unable to see just how many people truly cared for him."

Mrs Alexander said everyone has a "collective responsibility" to prevent other young lives being lost.

"I am appealing to children to be kind always and never stand by and leave bullying unreported," Mrs Alexander said.

"I appeal to teachers to look out for signs that children are struggling.

"They all have smart phones at a very young age and it is vital that they are guided on how to use them responsibly and kindly.

"Finally I appeal to parents. Please take an interest in what your children do online.

"We don’t like to think that our children could be responsible for being cruel to another child, but I have been shocked by the 'nice' kids who were responsible in part for Felix’s anguish.

"On several occasions we removed all form of social media from Felix as it was causing so much distress, but that just isolated him further.

"Our lives have been irrevocably damaged by the loss of our wonderful son; please don’t let it happen to any other family."

Mrs Alexander and the family have been fundraising for the Place2be charity, which offers mental health counselling to young people.

The charity's director of communications, Jennie Meadows, said: "We are inspired by Lucy Alexander’s commitment to bringing about positive change from such a tragic and heart-breaking situation.

"The support that we have received as an organisation in memory of Felix is both overwhelming and unprecedented.

"Through our work in 282 schools across the UK, this support will help us to reach children, parents and teachers so that school communities can thrive and be emotionally resilient.”

HOW TO SPOT AND PREVENT BULLYING AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE BEING BULLIED

IT’S a major form of communication but with the rise of social media has also come the rise of cyber bullying.

The Anti-Bullying Alliance defines bullying as 'the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person by another, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power'. It can involve everything from name calling to spreading hurtful stories.

Cyber-bullying has the same effect as face-to-face verbal or psychological bullying, taking place via mobile phones, emails or texting.

Anti-bullying charities offer a variety of advice to youngsters and their parents and carers, to tackle the problem:

• Everyone should think twice before they post anything online because once it’s out there it can’t be taken back. It is easy for comments and posts made online to be taken out of context, and these can be damaging to the poster and victim in the long term.

• Anyone who posts abuse or sends threats can be traced by the police without any difficulty, as every time a website is visited it leaves digital footprints. Even an anonymous email address can still be traced.

• Parents and carers are advised to look for signs of stress or changes in a child’s behaviour. They might make excuses to miss school, or seem upset after using the internet or their phones. Their eating habits could change or they could start sleeping badly.

• A parent who suspects their child is being bullied is asked not to panic. They should listen to the child and provide calm reassurance things can get better. Assure them the bullying is not their fault, and you are there to support them. Talk to the child's school who can provide help and support.

• For more information visit bullying.co.uk or talk to a family support worker by calling the confidential helpline 0808 800 2222.

• Alternatively the Place2Be charity website has a list of crisis contacts, offering help in a variety of circumstances, at place2be.org.uk/crisis-contacts.

Anyone going through any issues can gain confidential advice and support 24-hours a day by calling the Samaritans free from any phone on 116 123.