Barbara Khattri (above), mother of cheating Fortnite gamer FaZe Jarvis today defended her son over the scandal

The mother of the British teenage YouTube star banned from playing Fortnite because he was caught cheating defended her son today – and blasted the online community over her son's treatment.

Barbara Khattri said her 'broken' son Jarvis Kaye, 17, had 'made an error' - but added the gaming community should 're-think how it treats people'.

Speaking from the family home today, Mrs Khattri told MailOnline: 'Jarvis made an error and he admits that. But the gaming community needs to re-think how it treats people.

'He's broken. He loves that game. He doesn't have a devious bone in his body and what I really know is that for any mistake that doesn't physically harm a person there should be the chance to make amends.'

Ms Khattri had earlier opened her heart in an emotional Facebook post where she said her son had been left in 'despair' by the decision to ban him for life.

'A very wise friend of mine said 'well the thing is you can never be happier than your unhappiest child' - wow, so so true!' she wrote.

YouTuber Jarvis Kaye - known as FaZe Jarvis - burst into tears as he admitted to his two million subscribers that he had been banned for life from playing Fortnite for bending the rules

FaZe Jarvis (far left) has amassed an estimated personal fortune of £2million and is part of the US eSports team named 'FaZe Clan' that includes his brother FaZe Kay (far right)

The family lives in this pretty detached home (above) worth £1.3million in the leafy Surrey commuter-belt town of Oxsted where Jarvis went to the local comprehensive school

'It's my turn at the moment to be feeling that abject pain, despair and helplessness today. My youngest son Jarvis made a genuine, naive error of judgement and is currently banned for life from something he loves.

'It's been a very long, tough week and I've woken this morning with it trending on twitter where there is both overwhelming support and criticism for him.

'As not only a parent and a boss but mostly as just a person, I know first hand how so often the lesson is so much better learned when there is the opportunity to take full responsibility and actually in what ever way fix or right the wrong!

Javis's family say the teenage YouTube star is distraught over his lifetime cheating ban

'I pray for Jarvis that this is the case for him. I'm not looking for agreement with my point of view at all, I just thought that there's as much power in sharing when we feel scared and confused as when we're on top of the world'.

Mrs Khattri's pro-gamer son, known as FaZe Jarvis, lives with her and his two brothers in a detached home worth £1.3million in the picturesque commuter belt town of Oxted in Surrey.

Brought up in a middle-class family by his mother, who runs a successful consultancy business, the teenager is said to have amassed an estimated £2m fortune and earned £27,500 in advertising over the last month alone through his YouTube channel with two million fans.

Javis and his brother Frazier, known as FaZe Kay, are said to have helped make 'The FaZe Clan', the esports team the brothers represent £6.2m in the past year – including £2.4m in prize money plus a further £3.8m from sponsorship deals.

The mother-of-three spoke after her son – who is currently in the US – was given a lifetime ban by Epic Games for cheating while playing Fortnite.

The pro-gamer didn't cheat during a competitive match, but instead uploaded clips showing him using aimbots - which allow players to shoot others without taking careful aim.

The teenager, who attended local comprehensive Oxted School, issued a grovelling apology to fans after admitting he had been caught bending the rules.

In a tweet the teenager, who has nearly 600,000 followers on Twitch, said: 'I'm going to take accountability for my actions and I understand completely why this has happened, I just wish I had known how severe the consequences were at the time and I would have never thought about doing it.'

The teenager added: 'I love all of you who still support me, this is not the end.'

Jarvis, with 600k Twitch fans - didn't cheat during a competitive match, but uploaded videos showing him using aimbots - which allow players to shoot others without taking careful aim

The pro-gamer, who is currently in the US, told of his devastation in a series of tweets (above)

Jarvis uploaded a tearful video telling his subscribers that he was unaware his actions would lead to a ban.

Fortnite is a battle royale-style survival shooter where players create a superhero avatar and compete against each other on a dystopian island to be the last one standing. The game boasts hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide.

He said: 'All I was thinking about whilst I was making those videos was just how entertaining and interesting these videos would be for you guys to watch.

'It didn't even cross my mind to think that I could be banned for life from Fortnite from those videos. I just want to be clear that this is the first time that I have ever done anything like this and of course I have never done this in a competitive game mode at all.'

The Khattri family including mother Barbara and her sons Chandler, Frazier and Jarvis

He added: 'Epic Games you know I know how big of a mistake I've made and I'm truly like so sorry. Epic, I know I have to take accountability for my actions and I'm going to do my best to accept any punishment that comes my way.

'I'm not trying to find a quick road out but being banned forever is just – a lifetime ban – is just, I just didn't this would happen.'

The length of the ban has caused a split in the gaming community, with many leaping to the defence of Jarvis Kaye. Fans have started using #FreeJarvis and it is currently trending on Twitter, pointing out that many people have done similar things, but with much smaller bans.

Jarvis's brother posted a copy of the video he made and tweeted: 'I can't put into words how upset Jarvis has been this week...please take your time to watch this video and share it.'

While many other gamers also leapt to his defence and implored bosses at Fornite to give the former schoolboy another chance and rescind his lengthy ban.

Fortnite is a hugely popular esports game with millions of players and fans worldwide

Part of the issue that has riled up some gamers is that two players, called Xxif and Ronaldo, were found guilty of cheating during the qualifiers for a professional tournament, but were only banned for two weeks.

It is unclear if Epic Games will stick to their lengthy ban or not. Fortnite is free to download, with additional content available via in-app purchases, including new skins, dance moves and accessories for in-game avatars.