Shannon Gee, 16, from Camborne, Cornwall, died two hours after overdosing on tablets, inquest told

A schoolgirl who was called a 'fat b***h' and told to lose weight by online bullies died two hours after overdosing on tablets, an inquest heard today.

Shannon Gee, 16, walked downstairs and told her father she had 'done something silly' before showing him a bundle of empty pill packets which she had hidden in her bedroom cupboard.

The teenager, from Camborne, Cornwall, collapsed shortly afterwards and was rushed to hospital but died from the incident in September 2012.

During the first day of an inquest into her death, the hearing heard how Shannon had been mercilessly bullied at school which led to a poor attendance record and meant she rarely left her bedroom.

But, despite hiding away, the aspiring actress was also targeted on Twitter and Facebook - battles which she fought 'from the safety of her own room', the inquest was told.

Her mother Christine Gee said the problems had started when Shannon was diagnosed with dyslexia and the school 'shined a spotlight on her'.

She said: 'The school was very quick to recognise that she displayed some of the common symptoms. But they ultimately succeeded in shining a spotlight on her.

'The other schoolchildren clearly gave their opinions and suggested that she was thick and that she was only getting help because she was the teachers' pet.'

In a statement read to the hearing, she added how Shannon was a 'curvy girl' who had been picked on due to her weight

'She used Twitter, Facebook and other social media facilities to communicate. I know she found herself on the receiving end of some heartless comments,' she said.

'She was a curvy girl. She was called a 'fat b***h,' a 'fat cow' and was told to lose some weight. She fought these little battles from the safety of her own room.'

Shannon's half-brother Christopher Harrison, who spent an hour with her on the morning of her death, told the inquest how Shannon had been worried about the bullying.

'There was stuff going on with the school. It was bullying,' he said. 'People were calling her fat and things and she was worrying about her weight.

'I think she had fallen out with one of her main friends which had upset her quite a lot.'

Her mother had told the inquest how Shannon, a keen drama student, was 'loving and generous' and had hoped to move to New York one day.

But, in the months before her death, Shannon had also been worried by family tensions and the well-being of 'significant adults' in her life, the hearing heard.

The inquest also heard how she had become an 'agony aunt' for her peers at the Pool Academy, where she went to school.

Her mother added: 'These burdens became too much for her to bear. But it was damned if you do and damned if you don't.'

The teenager attended Pool Academy (pictured), west Cornwall, where it is alleged she was bullied by her peers. The inquest heard she was also targeted online - battles she fought 'from the safety of her own room'

The day before her death in September 2012, Shannon went to Plymouth to go shopping with a friend.

She spent the night at the friend's house before returning home on the Sunday.

While at home, her half-brother, a shop assistant, added that Shannon was 'not really talking' and was 'very quiet and tired'.

He said: 'If there was anything she would not have told me. She had issues and things that she needed to talk about to do with the family and with school.'

She told her father that night how she did not want to go to school the next day, the hearing heard.

Hours later, Shannon had collapsed and was taken to Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, where she died.

In a statement, her father Paul told the inquest: 'She seemed quite assertive and there was no shortage of other future plans. She would have known full well that we would not have made her go to school.

I know she found herself on the receiving end of some heartless comments... She fought these little battles from the safety of her own room Shannon's mother Christine Gee

'There was nothing about her demeanor that suggested she had already taken any tablets.'

Talking about the pills, he added: 'I have no idea how she got hold of them or how long she had been storing them. She was very unclear about how many she had taken.'

Heather Campbell, a specialist social worker who worked with Shannon, said the teenager was first referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in 2011.

She was referred for a second time in February 2012 and went to four further appointments.

Ms Campbell said Shannon had talked about different concerns in her personal life, including an allegation of rape between two people she knew well, self-harm and her mother and father arguing.

She said: 'She talked quite a lot about the difficulties and the stress relating to her family life. She disclosed that living at home had become "unbearable".'

She added that Shannon told her that she 'wanted to try' self-harm, saying: 'Shannon wanted to see what it was like but said that she would never do it again. She had thoughts about what it would be like to be dead but not about doing it.'

After that, Shannon's appointments were stopped over the summer holidays and organised to start again in September.

The four-day inquest at Truro City Hall (pictured) heard how the student had hopes to move to New York one day. The hearing heard she died at Royal Cornwall Hospital after collapsing at home following an overdose

The hearing heard how Shannon's desperate father had phoned Ms Campbell to ask if they could move the appointment forward as his daughter 'wasn't doing very well'. He also took her to the GP and visited her school.

But the inquest heard how a phone message left by the organisation after the summer holidays was never returned. Shannon did not attend another appointment.

After Shannon's death, a serious case review was launched. It found that there was action or omission by the services that led to Shannon's death.

But Ms Campbell told the inquest how Shannon had been 'thriving' at their last meeting.

She said: 'I believe the way forward for Shannon was what she was asking for. She was looking forward and moving on.

'She was really engaged and insightful. I think there are lessons to be learned but I do not think I could have done anything at the time.

'At the last meeting she was thriving. She was doing really well and moving forward.'

Both of Shannon's parents have been excused from attending the inquest due to illness.

The four-day hearing in her death, held at Cornwall Coroner's Court, continues.