THE sound of yet another message landing in her inbox should make Lucy smile but instead her heart sinks to the bottom of her stomach. The ping of excitement as she writes back to friends she left just minutes ago at the school bus stop is replaced with dry-throat dread as another vile threat pops up on her profile page.
'I hope you die you skinny rat'. The words of a faceless voice ring in her ears as her eyes sting with tears. It is the second message from 'anonymous' this week.
Lucy is paranoid, scared and doesn't know who to turn to. More worrying is that Lucy is far from the only Hull teenager to fall victim to cyberbullying.
'It happened once, then it stopped for a week and then I'd get another one and then one every day after that', says the 15-year-old. 'It wasn't like I was getting loads but because they were so horrible it just seemed relentless. I would cry myself to sleep and was constantly wondering who was doing it.'
Like 91 per cent of teenage girls in Hull and the East Riding, Lucy - not her real name - owns a mobile phone. She is one of 99.7 per cent of 13 to 18-year-olds with access to the internet. She used this access for social networking websites, her preferred choice being Tumblr, where people can write and share short blogs - the equivalent to online diaries - with one another.
A key feature of Tumblr is users' choice to remain anonymous. But it was this that turned Lucy's enjoyment into dread because it allowed her tormentor - or troll - to hide behind their keyboard. Paranoid, Lucy started arguing with her best friend and boyfriend and accused her class mates of being the troll.
'I didn't want to shout at people but I ended up kicking off at school because I thought I knew who it was', says Lucy. 'I was arguing with so many people because I was so worked up about it. If someone said one little thing to me, I would jump to conclusions. That was the worst part of it all really, not knowing who it was.'
Lucy was also grieving the death of her father - but this just gave the bully more ammunition. One message was even signed off with 'love daddy x'.
For weeks, Lucy suffered in silence but when her older sister saw the messages, she insisted she speak to her mum. They considered going to the police but because the messages were sent anonymously, they figured it would be too complicated to find the culprit.
Lucy says: 'When I got the 'daddy' message I just felt sick. It was awful but I didn't want to tell my mum because I didn't want to worry her. She had been through enough. It felt so horrible but I thought if I told people they would think I was attention seeking.'
Cyberbullying is a relatively new issue, but tragic cases like Hannah Smith, the 14-year-old from Leicestershire who ended her life after being cyberbullied, has highlighted it as a major issue for schools and parents to tackle. Latest figures published by the NSPCC show 38 per cent of children have been cyberbullied and 18 per cent did not tell their parents about it. All Hull secondary schools include cyberbullying in their anti-bullying policies and many invite local charities, such as Corner House, to talk to students about the impact it can have on people.
Neil Colthup, Hull City Council's Safeguarding Children Board manager, said: 'We are definitely becoming more aware of it but bullying certainly isn't a new thing and online bullying is just another way in which people can cause distress to one another. As with anything, there is always more that can be done but a lot is happening to raise awareness and educate young people about it in schools.
'The thing about cyberbullying is the words and the impact of them stays with the young person for a long time, just the same as regular bullying does. Both have an equal impact on the victim.'
Lucy's bully stopped tormenting her, but it doesn't stop her thinking about their heartless words. She hopes sharing her story will help other victims and even show cyberbullies the impact of their actions.
'I would hope anyone else who goes through it would go to the police,' she says. 'I didn't, but if it had continued, I would have done. Things can be done to stop it.
'People shouldn't be allowed to write these things - it is disgusting. I don't think people should be allowed to be anonymous either. But ultimately, it isn't the victim, or the website that is to blame, it is the person doing it and if they get found out, they're the ones that have to live with it, because I won't anymore.'
The Mail contacted Tumblr but no one responded.
Cyberbullying: 'Find an adult you trust to talk it through with'
Humberside Police claims cyberbullying is rare in Hull and East Riding. But like Lucy, many do not report it - and 18 per cent do not even tell their parents.
Neil Colthup, Hull City Council's Safeguarding Children Board manager, stresses the importance of victims speaking out and for parents to talk to their children if they suspect they are being bullied.
'It is really important for any young person going through this, to find an adult they trust to talk it through with,' he says. 'When young people aren't talking about it and it is getting to be a worse problem yet they continue to try to deal with it on their own, that is when it becomes really difficult.
'We urge them to find someone to talk to - that could be a teacher, a classroom assistant or a parent.'
He also recognises that as cyberbullying did not exist when parents were growing up, it can seem difficult for them to approach.
'It is difficult for us parents', adds Neil, himself a father. 'Some of us are struggling to catch up with technology.
'A key to dealing with it, is getting the balance right. It is tempting to just ban or stop your teenager from going online, but that isn't going to work.
'It is better to talk to them, to know what websites they are using, what they are up to and to talk to them about it in the same way you would talk to them about being safe after dark or riding their bike. It isn't about saying don't do it, it is about teaching them how to do it safely.'
* Hull City Council has a page on its website dedicated to dealing with cyberbullying.
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