Parents have been warned about the dangers of online bullying by the father of a young girl who took her own life.

Jonathan Pugsley spoke to the Irish Independent about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of his daughter Ciara.

The 15-year-old committed suicide after she was allegedly bullied on the social media website ask.fm.

"I had no idea ... that Ciara was being bullied. There were no signs of it," Mr Pugsley stated, adding that he had never heard of the website where Ciara is said to have experienced problems.

He described the site as "extremely sinister" as bullies can be "completely anonymous".

Mr Pugsley is now campaigning to warn other parents about what their children could be opened up to if they use social media websites.

A recent report from the HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention revealed that compared to other European standards, Ireland has the sixth lowest rate of death by suicide.

Written by Donal Walsh

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