Schoolboy found hanged after his father confiscated his new Wii



Jake Roberts

A boy of 13 hanged himself with his school tie after his father confiscated a computer game.

Jake Roberts wanted to play it on his Nintendo Wii console but couldn't because his sister was watching TV.

An argument developed and when his father confiscated the game Jake stormed to his room. Hours later he was discovered hanging from his bed by his father.

The talented teenager, described as a sensitive boy with a fantastic imagination enjoyed writing stories and poems and even had one verse published after his school entered it into a competition.

The inquest heard evidence from Jake's devastated parents, Andrea and John, who lived with their son and daughter in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Mrs Roberts a bank clerk, became tearful as she recalled how her son had stormed off to his room after being told he could not play on the game.

She said: 'We gave him some money for his birthday so he went out and bought a computer game.

'When he came back he wanted to play it but his sister was using the television.

'He had a temper tantrum and stormed off upstairs.'

Mr Roberts, a printer, said: 'The first thing I saw when I walked in to Jake's bedroom was all the paper he had ripped up on the floor during his tantrum.

'The door was open with his bed to my left behind the door. I was going to tell him off when I turned. It took me a few seconds to register what I was seeing.'

'His school tie was round his neck and he was hung from his cabin bed. I tried to lift him and his tie was attached to a bar on the bed.'



An ambulance was called and Jake was rushed to Scarborough Hospital, but he was pronounced dead two days later as a result of hanging.



Mr Roberts continued: 'I honestly don't think he meant to hang himself. I think he was mad about the computer game and just did something stupid.'



Mrs Roberts added that the family had watched an episode of the BBC drama Casualty together weeks, before which had featured a young person hanging themselves.

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Jake Roberts: Found hanging in his bedroom after an argument

She said: 'It did occur to us a few weeks after this happened that we had seen a Casualty programme on a Saturday night at about 8pm.

'This had shown a hanging. I know I was really shocked they had shown it at that time.

'But I don't think anything he had seen influenced him. When he was younger he had a bit of a temper and he'd had tantrums with us before.'

Recording a verdict of accidental death at the inquest in Scarborough Coroner Michael Oakley said: 'There is no evidence whatsoever that he took things he had seen into account.

'He didn't have any particular temper tantrums other than those you would expect from someone who had just become a teenager.

'There had been a minor argument. The circumstances in which he was found do not suggest to me this was a deliberate act to end his life.'



In a statement after the verdict, Jake's grieving parents said: 'Jake was a kind, caring and sensitive boy who had a wonderfully dry sense of humour and huge potential for the future.

'He had a special and unique talent for writing stories which stemmed from a fantastic imagination.

'We love him so very much and miss him more and more with each passing day, and are still struggling to come to terms with his loss.'



Jake was a popular pupil at St Augustine's Roman Catholic secondary school in the town and a page on social networking site Bebo has been dedicated to him.

It features emotional tributes from school friends. One reads 'your face just made my face light up in a way, just to see your big cheesy grin. Miss you loads'.

Another simply says: 'Miss you every single day you have a special place in everyone's heart.'



