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Saturday, June 14, 2008, 08:00

SHOCKING videos have been posted online mocking the death of tragic teen Sam Leeson.

The disturbing clips poke fun at the 13-year-old from Tredworth's apparent suicide which his family blames on online bullying.

Today, The Citizen launches its 'Cyber Watch - For Sam's Sake' campaign, in a bid to crackdown on the bullies who torment children online.

The aim of the campaign is to highlight the problem of cyber bullying and to find a way of enabling children to report online attacks.

Sam's family say they are horrified strangers are choosing to find fun in their grief.

Sam's sister Emma Cope said: “They are disgusting and they are not true.

“The videos are inappropriate and they are sick. We will not let it affect us. These people didn't know Sam.”

“Sam was well loved and we will not let these sickos get to us. Bebo bullying is something the police and schools need to deal with. Look at what has happened to us.”

Sam’s parents Sally Cope and Christopher Leeson and six siblings, Emma, Victoria, Thomas, Katie, Rio and Milly are backing The Citizen's campaign.

Emma said: “We want memories of Sam to be positive and people who didn't even know him are trying to change that.

“We want young boys to speak out about this. Sam is not the first and he will not be the last.”

Coun Jackie Hall, Gloucestershire County Council's lead cabinet member for children and young people, condemned the online bullies.

She said: “I am shocked by this, I am filled with disgust.

“If you are affected by bullying or know someone who is don't keep it to yourself.

“Let someone know about it, tell someone you trust.”

Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda is backing Cyber Watch – For Sam's Sake.

“It is not considered acceptable in our society to hit people or insult them nor should it be considered acceptable to push people around and bully them just because you are sitting behind a computer terminal.

“It is time for those who use the internet to bully others to face tough legal consequences and also for YouTube and other internet service providers to take their responsibilities more seriously.”

A YouTube spokesman said: “YouTube is a community site used by millions of people in very positive ways.

"Sadly as with any form of communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the rules.

"On YouTube, these rules prohibit content like pornography, gratuitous violence or the invasion of personal privacy.

"When people see content that they think is inappropriate they can flag it and our staff then review it. If the content breaks our terms then we remove it and if a user repeatedly breaks the rules we disable their account.

"If the police ask us for information, we will cooperate, so long as they follow the correct legal process that the government introduced."
















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