The grieving mum of a teenager who committed suicide has written a heartbreaking letter outlining the dangers of online bullying.

Lucy Alexander has penned the open letter after son Felix, aged just 17, stepped out in front of a train earlier this year.

The sixth form student, from Worcester, was pronounced dead after being hit by a train near the city on April 27.

Felix had suffered three years of vile abuse on social media, and an inquest heard the “kind and caring” teenager with a bright future was subjected to “cruel and overwhelming” taunts on a string of websites before his death.

His mum Lucy, 51, said the “poisonous” abuse left her son, who had moved to Pershore High School after experiencing difficulties at a previous school, in a “dark place”.

The abuse became so overwhelming Felix, who was dubbed the “most hated person” in his school, decided to kill himself.

The nurse has now written a powerful letter to highlight the suffering he had to endure over the seven-year period.

Here, we give you the chance to read her heartbreaking words in full:


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


People who had never even met Felix were abusing him over social media.

He found that he was unable to make and keep friends as it was difficult to befriend the most "hated' boy in the school.

His schoolwork suffered and he found school a daily struggle.







I have been told that ‘everyone says things they don't mean on social media’.

Unkindness is dismissed as 'banter' and because they cannot see the effect of their words they do not believe there is one.


Felix Alexander with his mum Lucy.
Felix Alexander with his mum Lucy.

Our children need to understand that actions have consequences and that people are wounded, sometimes fatally by these so called 'keyboard warriors".


They do this by not reporting it, by not supporting or befriending the child being abused, which just validates the bully's behaviour.




I do not expect teachers to be psychologists but they have a unique overview of children's lives and they are able to recognise a difficulty early and help signpost towards help.


Incorporate these valuable lessons into the PSHE programme early in a child's school life.

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.



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.


Group chats can be a particular problem and they can disintegrate into hate-fests very easily.

It is too simplistic to say, ‘Why don't you just block them?’ or ‘You don't have to read it!’



Look at your children's Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Googlechat and Facebook.


What are they watching online in their bedrooms? Children are witnessing a warped form of reality as violence and pornography are being 'normalised"
by their ease of access.



The word is kindness. I said this at our son's funeral. Please be kind always, for you never know what is in someone's heart or mind.

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

