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The tragic lesson of taunted Kelsey, 13
 |
| Kelsey Jade Winter |
Campaigners issue warning after inquest
hears how troubled North-East schoolgirl
was found hanging in her bedroom
ANTI-BULLYING campaigners
last night warned of the dangers
of name-calling after an inquest
heard a teenage girl found hanging
in her bedroom had been
taunted.
Kelsey Jade Winter, 13, was
found by her stepfather with a
belt around her neck at her home
in Barnard Castle, on August 12,
last year.
At the inquest into her death at
Bishop Auckland Magistrates'
Court yesterday, Durham Coroner
Andrew Tweddle heard that
the Teesdale School student had
coloured her hair and wore heavy
foundation to try to hide her natural
ginger hair and freckles.
But that did not stop the taunts
from children at her school.
Kelsey's mother, Carol-Anne
Winter, said that her daughter
had been upset in the run-up to
her death because of the teasing.
"She was being called ginger
and freckle face and pig nose. She
thought she was ugly but she
wasn't ugly at all," said Mrs Winter.
"We got her hair died and she
used foundation to try and stop
the names. But she just used to
break down and cry and get upset
about it."
Last night, Liz Carnell, from
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, director
of the charity Bullying
UK, warned that bullying and
name-calling could have a "dripdrip"
effect on young people.
"People think they can call
somebody a name and it's forgotten
about," she said.
"It isn't because people then go
home and they brood over these
things, and it might not be the
only name that they have been
called that day. These things
have a cumulative effect."
A spokesperson for the NSPCC
said: "Bullying destroys the lives
of many children who carry the
emotional damage into adulthood.
It is one of the many reasons
children call our Childline
service, with counsellors handling
around 3,000 calls on the
problem every month."
Christine Pratt, chief executive of the National Bullying
Helpline, said the charity will
launch a campaign later this year
urging children to confront,
record and inform people about
bullying.
"Sadly it isn't an uncommon
occurrence in the playground,"
she said.
Yesterday's inquest was told it
was not the first time that Kelsey,
described by her parents as hardworking
and bubbly, had tried to
harm herself. Two months before
her death, she had put a belt
around her neck and tightened it,
but freed herself.
The teenager had been attending
sessions with a school counsellor,
Val Edwards, who, giving
evidence at the inquest, said the
teenager felt ashamed for trying
to harm herself.
"She said she wanted to end it all
and changed her mind," Mrs Edwards
told the court.
"She realised she didn't want
to die and she wasn't suicidal.
She was terrified of what she had
done."
But Mrs Winter, Mrs Edwards
and Louise Hamilton, a pastoral
worker at Teesdale School, in
Barnard Castle, all agreed they
thought the teasing was nothing
to be too concerned about.
"It was nothing out of the ordinary.
I didn't have any concerns
about her at all." said Mrs Edwards,
who last saw Kelsey just
before school broke up for summer.
"At the end of term, she
seemed to be feeling a lot better.
Apart from the incident with the
belt, her situation seemed to be
getting a lot better."
Yesterday's inquest was also
told that Kelsey had been badly
affected by the deaths of her two
uncles in 2006 and 1998.
"That was a big thing to her.
She couldn't understand why
everybody we loved died," said
Mrs Winter.
Recording an open verdict, Mr
Tweddle said there was a possibility
Kelsey had changed her
mind about taking her life, but
acted too late.
"Here we have a girl who is
clearly very troubled. She had
previously put a belt around her
neck and didn't like it." he said.
"Given that she had tried once
and changed her mind, in my
opinion there might be a possibility
she might have thought
about it again.
"The window of opportunity in
which one has the ability to
change one's mind is a very, very
short one indeed."
10:37am Wednesday 21st May 2008
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CommentPosted by: DThorne, north east on 11:29am Wed 21 May 08
How sad it is that children continually taunt each other and drive them to despair. Equally sad is the fact that you are showing an advertisement enabling people to 'gingerize' their friends!!! No wonder people with ginger hair and freckles take it to heart so much. Perhaps a little more consideration to the situating of the story around the advert on your website could have been thought out.
How sad it is that children continually taunt each other and drive them to despair. Equally sad is the fact that you are showing an advertisement enabling people to 'gingerize' their friends!!! No wonder people with ginger hair and freckles take it to heart so much. Perhaps a little more consideration to the situating of the story around the advert on your website could have been thought out.
Posted by: Rachel, Darlington on 1:53pm Wed 21 May 08
She had already tried to harm herself and they still considered it 'nothing to be too concerned about?'. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as some bullying we hear about now but she was obviously very sensitive, and perhaps should have taken her more seriously than the situation may have warranted at 'face value'once they learned of her previous self harm.
She had already tried to harm herself and they still considered it 'nothing to be too concerned about?'. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as some bullying we hear about now but she was obviously very sensitive, and perhaps should have taken her more seriously than the situation may have warranted at 'face value'once they learned of her previous self harm.
Posted by: north east mother, durham on 2:17pm Wed 21 May 08
i get sick of reading about children been bullied and taking there own lives. what are the schools and teacher doing bout bullying.and they say they have it under control. i am a mother of a child who was bullied.my daughter did,nt like to go to school and was starting to comfort eat and then she was bullied more for that.in the end i pulled my daughter out of school and was threatened with court and fines and i said until you get my child into another school she will stay off and she did for 4 month. finaly got a place in new school,she has lost 2 stone made new friends and as never been so happy.once any one finds there child is been bullied go to school and threaten them with local news paper and about taking your child out of school.beleive me its well worth it to see your child happy and i know that for a fact.i feel so sorry for the family of kelsey this should never of happened.
i get sick of reading about children been bullied and taking there own lives. what are the schools and teacher doing bout bullying.and they say they have it under control. i am a mother of a child who was bullied.my daughter did,nt like to go to school and was starting to comfort eat and then she was bullied more for that.in the end i pulled my daughter out of school and was threatened with court and fines and i said until you get my child into another school she will stay off and she did for 4 month. finaly got a place in new school,she has lost 2 stone made new friends and as never been so happy.once any one finds there child is been bullied go to school and threaten them with local news paper and about taking your child out of school.beleive me its well worth it to see your child happy and i know that for a fact.i feel so sorry for the family of kelsey this should never of happened.
Posted by: anon, Co Durham on 3:33pm Wed 21 May 08
I see the left wing appointed Chief Inspector of Constabulary, (out of touch like many others) wants verbal abuse decriminalised, so they again can say crime is falling (so called bullying) it will be if they de-criminalise all crimes.
I see the left wing appointed Chief Inspector of Constabulary, (out of touch like many others) wants verbal abuse decriminalised, so they again can say crime is falling (so called bullying) it will be if they de-criminalise all crimes.
Posted by: Jay, Spennymoor on 6:37pm Wed 21 May 08
This is such a sad, sad story, one so young who should be enjoying life, to take their own life is tragic. My heart goes out to the parents, friends, family, and all those who knew and cared about this young girl. Having experienced bullying for years myself, it is true that it stays with you. Many young people try to minimise the impact the playground taunts are having on them, in fear that this will lead to others labeling them sensitive and soft. Sadly, it often results in mental health issues carried into adult life. Much has been done in recent years to tackle these issues, this must continue and must improve; we all have a social responsibility to tackle this unacceptable, antisocial behaviour.
There was something on the century radio this week where a listener had accused those who mock and taunt ginger haired people as racist -that was deemed to be a step too far. I would argue that racism covers much than the nationality we are born with, the colour of our skin or the religous beliefs we each hold. STAMP IT OUT.
This is such a sad, sad story, one so young who should be enjoying life, to take their own life is tragic. My heart goes out to the parents, friends, family, and all those who knew and cared about this young girl. Having experienced bullying for years myself, it is true that it stays with you. Many young people try to minimise the impact the playground taunts are having on them, in fear that this will lead to others labeling them sensitive and soft. Sadly, it often results in mental health issues carried into adult life. Much has been done in recent years to tackle these issues, this must continue and must improve; we all have a social responsibility to tackle this unacceptable, antisocial behaviour.
There was something on the century radio this week where a listener had accused those who mock and taunt ginger haired people as racist -that was deemed to be a step too far. I would argue that racism covers much than the nationality we are born with, the colour of our skin or the religous beliefs we each hold. STAMP IT OUT.
Posted by: Linz, Stockton-on-Tees on 8:00pm Wed 21 May 08
Unforunately I hear of many stories of children being bullied within school.
The local authorities have the ability to provide tutoring for children who have school phobia, but they do not due to budget constraints.
Parents have the right to educate their children at home, but the Local Authority do not inform them that they have this choice.
Shame on the Local Authority for allowing this to happen.
Unforunately I hear of many stories of children being bullied within school.
The local authorities have the ability to provide tutoring for children who have school phobia, but they do not due to budget constraints.
Parents have the right to educate their children at home, but the Local Authority do not inform them that they have this choice.
Shame on the Local Authority for allowing this to happen.
Posted by: amber, barnard castle on 8:56pm Wed 21 May 08
kelsey didn't deserve to be bullied she was loved by so many people + every one misses her so much whoever bullied her should feel ashamed that they did this to her! kelsey babe you didn't deserve this you were gorgeous every one was that bullied you was just jealous! why bully it gets you nowhere in life it doesn't get you a medal it just makes some one else's life a nightmare
kelsey didn't deserve to be bullied she was loved by so many people + every one misses her so much whoever bullied her should feel ashamed that they did this to her! kelsey babe you didn't deserve this you were gorgeous every one was that bullied you was just jealous! why bully it gets you nowhere in life it doesn't get you a medal it just makes some one else's life a nightmare
Posted by: fratia, Canada on 12:35am Thu 22 May 08
In my day the bullies would have been given a good bashing by the parents of the child being bullied. That is illegal now, and children are more like young thugs. What kind of a world are we living in, when bullying is condoned.
I am self employed, and have a hard time hiring some of the young today, simply because of attitude!
In my day the bullies would have been given a good bashing by the parents of the child being bullied. That is illegal now, and children are more like young thugs. What kind of a world are we living in, when bullying is condoned.
I am self employed, and have a hard time hiring some of the young today, simply because of attitude!
Posted by: ian, darlington on 3:28pm Thu 22 May 08
A desperately sad story and my heart goes out to the family. As a red-head myself and with a child of the same colouring I have to say that I can understand what she went through. No longer can so-called comedians make jokes on account of peoples colour, race, faith disability or sexuality, yet it appears ok to do so on account of the colour of your hair.
I dont want anything banned or criminalised, just for the media to see how damaging jokes aimed at the "gingers" can be, especially for children. I have long since got over the bullying i got as a child, but I have seen my child victimised in just the same way. Every time Catherine Tate does one of her ginger sketches she is tormented by her peers for days, even though the comedian intends the joke to be ironic (she is naturally red herself) I am afraid the kids are too young (or stupid ) to recognise it.
A desperately sad story and my heart goes out to the family. As a red-head myself and with a child of the same colouring I have to say that I can understand what she went through. No longer can so-called comedians make jokes on account of peoples colour, race, faith disability or sexuality, yet it appears ok to do so on account of the colour of your hair.
I dont want anything banned or criminalised, just for the media to see how damaging jokes aimed at the "gingers" can be, especially for children. I have long since got over the bullying i got as a child, but I have seen my child victimised in just the same way. Every time Catherine Tate does one of her ginger sketches she is tormented by her peers for days, even though the comedian intends the joke to be ironic (she is naturally red herself) I am afraid the kids are too young (or stupid ) to recognise it.
Posted by: rachael, barnard castle on 2:31pm Wed 25 Jun 08
kelsey was a well known gurl who I thote was very out goin and alway looked after her friends. she didnt deserve what happened to her and the bullying didnt make things better. I hope that wo evr the bullys were they thote about what they have dun and this mite calm them down and make them think about what they say to people because people do take things too heart. kelsey evryone misses you so much and its hard to see what people feel about what happend and we wish you were still here..... we miss you loads kels and we will never ever forget you because you will always be in our hearts no matter what xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[italic]italic[/italic]
kelsey was a well known gurl who I thote was very out goin and alway looked after her friends. she didnt deserve what happened to her and the bullying didnt make things better. I hope that wo evr the bullys were they thote about what they have dun and this mite calm them down and make them think about what they say to people because people do take things too heart. kelsey evryone misses you so much and its hard to see what people feel about what happend and we wish you were still here..... we miss you loads kels and we will never ever forget you because you will always be in our hearts no matter what xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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