Graffiti boy hanged himself

A SHY and retiring pupil killed himself because he feared he would be suspended from school for drawing on a classroom workbench, an inquest was told yesterday.

Michael Hoyle, 15, was found hanging from a bag strap attached to a light fitting inside a lavatory cubicle at the 1,900-pupil Oxted County School, the inquest at Redhill, Surrey, was told. He was found by the headteacher Roger Coles, who kicked down the lavatory door to get to him on 2 February. School matrons and ambulance crews tried to revive Michael, of South Godstone, Surrey, but he was certified dead on arrival at hospital. The Surrey coroner, Michael Burgess, recorded a verdict of suicide.