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da "www.timesonline.co.uk"

From The Times September 21, 2009

Holly Grogan, 15, leapt to her death 'after abuse from Facebook bullies' 

Steve Bird

The parents of a 15-year-old public schoolgirl who jumped 30ft to her death from a road bridge blamed her suicide on the “huge pressure” and “modern complexities” of social networking websites.

Holly Grogan died last week after she fell on to a busy dual carriageway and was hit by passing traffic.

She had endured a torrent of abuse posted on her Facebook page, it was disclosed yesterday. Friends said that she had been a victim of cyber-bullying.

Her parents, Steve, 45, and Anita, 44, and her brother Tom, 17, described Holly as a wonderful daughter and sister, and warned other families to be aware of the dangers of bullying on websites such as Facebook, Bebo and MySpace.

Holly was a pupil at St Edward’s School, in Cheltenham. In a statement, her parents said: “We are not Catholic but chose for her to attend St Edward’s in the belief that the morals and values promoted by the school would provide Holly with a platform to the next stage of her life.

“Holly struggled to cope with the huge pressures placed upon her by the modern complexities of ‘friendship groups’ and social networking. Every responsible parent will empathise with our constant battle to instil self-belief and confidence in our children.

“Holly’s outwardly vivacious zest for life was apparent to all who knew her. We are so proud of our beautiful, kind and caring Holly.

“The family has been greatly comforted by the comments and tributes left on various social networking sites. We shared 15 wonderful years with Holly and to us she will be forever young.”

Holly was found under Pirton Lane Bridge, in Churchdown, near Gloucester, about 11 o’clock on Wednesday evening. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of her friends, Chloe Davis, 16, said that some girls would “gang up” on Holly, and that others posted a series of abusive messages on her Facebook page.

Chloe, who attends Chosen Hill secondary school, Gloucester, also said that Holly was forced to move schools after the bullying became unbearable. She said: “Holly was nice and had the biggest smile in the world. She always did well at school but the other girls used to pick on her.

“She didn’t have any confidence, that was the problem. Girls used to gang up on her and call her names and she didn’t have anything to say back. She just froze up.

“Girls used to bully her on Facebook and leave comments on her wall calling her names. They’ve probably all deleted them now.

“I heard that the girls who bullied her at her old school told their friends at her new school to bully her as well, and so it just kept on and on.

“Apparently there was a girl at her school yesterday who was running around crying because she used to bully her, but she should have thought about that at the time.

“I heard that she planned to do this and left a letter for her parents at home. I can’t believe it really.”