A 12-year-old schoolgirl who hanged herself had "intense social media activity" in the days before her death, a coroner said on Tuesday.

Jessica Scatterson, from Dallam in Warrington, was found in her bedroom with the word RIP written on her heel on 22 April 2017, two days before her thirteenth birthday.

An inquest into her death heard she had been tormented by school bullies and was struggling to cope with the pressures of social media.

Recording a verdict of suicide, senior coroner for Cheshire Alan Moore said Jessica had “felt emotionally overwhelmed” when she died and “the level and the intensity of her activity on social media platforms…cannot have failed to have influenced her intentions.”

The schoolgirl was an underage user of social media sites, which have a minimum age of 13.

Jessica's friends called the police after seeing harrowing messages from her on social media in the early hours of the morning. Disturbing handwritten notes and drawings were later found in her bedroom by police.

Inspector Hannah Friend told the inquest that they contained references to "suicide and death" and a "hand-drawn picture of someone being hanged".

She said Jessica had come home with scratches to her face and a swollen eye after arguing with another girl. The matter was reported to the police but it was unclear who started the fight so no action was taken.