DON’T be mean behind the screen – that’s the message a popular singer songwriter had for pupils at a Darlington school.

Rich Cottell, who has supported acts such as The Wanted and Conor Maynard, paid a visit to Hummersknott Academy, in Darlington, to discuss online safety and cyber bullying.

Rich, whose family members have fallen victims to cyber bullying, performed for the students before speaking to them about keeping safe online.

He also spoke about the importance of privacy settings on social media accounts and how to report cyber bullying and posts pupils are not comfortable with.

Hannah Lacey, PHSE personal well-being co-ordinator, who organised the event, said: “It was an effective way to put across a very important message to students and raise awareness of dangers within social networking.

“Social media is an inherent part of young people’s lives, but we want to educate them to be safe and responsible users.”