Mother blames school bullies for death of her 6ft daughter

A six-foot-tall girl of 13 killed herself because she could no longer endure being bullied over her height, her parents said on Tuesday.

Morgan Musson died from an overdose of painkillers five months after she left Ellis Guilford school in Nottingham, where she had been tormented by a gang of seven girls. Her mother, Debra Savage, said the bullying, which continued because the gang lived near her house, left her daughter isolated and vulnerable, and when she fell out with her best friend it was too much for her.

Mrs Savage, 35, discovered her daughter had died last week when she tried to wake her for school at 6am. Morgan had swallowed 40 painkillers.

Although her daughter had left Ellis Guilford in June, Mrs Savage believes the bullying had such a severe impact that she could not cope when her best friend said she did not want to be her "pal" any more.

"I blame the school and the bullies for my beautiful daughter's death," Mrs Savage said yesterday. "We asked and asked the teachers to take effective action to deal with what was going on. I think she thought all her problems were going to start over again and her mind snapped."

Nottinghamshire police are understood to be investigating the claims of bullying.