A DEVASTATED father has warned other parents of a twisted social media suicide challenge that he believes may have been responsible for his teenage son’s death.

Greg Wilmot found his boy Conor lying in a field near their home outside Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, on Thursday night.

6 Conor Wilmot, 13, was found dead near his home in Clare on Thursday Credit: mark.may@the-sun.ie

In a heartbreaking interview with the Irish Sun yesterday, he told how he battled to save Conor — and refuted wild newspaper reports that the 13-year-old was the victim of school bullies.

The computer analyst instead revealed his fears that evil internet manipulators may have cajoled his son to his death.

We can reveal that gardai have taken Conor’s mobile phone and computer to establish whether he was playing the notorious online “game” Blue Whale.

6 Gregory Wilmot insists his son never intended to kill himself

Accessed through social media platforms, the craze goads youngsters into completing increasingly disturbing tasks, from watching horror movies to self-harm and ultimately, on the 50th day, taking their own life.

At least 130 teen deaths in Russia have been attributed to the sick challenge, and police and social services in Britain have recently alerted parents to its spread there.

Revealing how his tragic son was “one of those kids who never got into trouble”, dad Greg warned of how vulnerable children are to online peer pressure.

He said: “Conor was brought up to be independent and to be aware of what he was doing.

“I never heard about Blue Whaling until it was mentioned when this happened.

“He was like other kids his age, always on his phone.

“I think parents nowadays do not realise how much their children are into the worlds of the internet and virtual reality, where to them everything is reality.

6 Conor was rugby mad, his family said

“They find it hard to discern between that and the real world and even being familiar with computers, I don’t see how we are going to tackle this as a major problem.

“They take everything they see on the internet so seriously, and so any nutcase can post terrible things on YouTube and social media.

“I will be very surprised if the gardai do not find that he was on this Blue Whale or similar dangerous websites.”

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Heartbroken Greg is convinced, after finding his body, that Conor had no other reason to his own life.

Recalling the horror that unfolded last Thursday, he said: “It was late, around 10pm, and I went outside to search for him.

“I rang his phone and it rang out which I felt was good.

“I found him eventually down by the river at the back of the house. I know that the physical circumstances were such that Conor did not kill himself intentionally.

“There was no sign of trauma and his face was very peaceful.

“I remained very calm and I did not panic. I contacted the emergency services. I was able to continue doing CPR until they arrived. But I knew in my heart that Conor was gone as he had no pulse when I first checked him.”

6 Mum Irina Wilmot

Brave Greg and his wife Irina spoke to the Irish Sun after reports on social media and in a Sunday newspaper wrongly claimed that Conor killed himself because he was being bullied.

Desperate to put the record straight, the couple — who have two other children, Melanie, 21, and ten-year-old Ross — admitted the slur against his friends and school, St Patrick’s Comprehensive in Shannon, had left them deeply upset.

Greg said: “Conor had everything to live for and he would never have killed himself deliberately.

“We believe his death was due to an unfortunate error in judgement. There was no suicide note or ­anything to indicate he had problems. He definitely had no problems in his comprehensive school.

“We never went to the school to complain about bullying. We definitely never contacted the gardai about bullying because he wasn’t.

“Conor liked school. He hardly ever missed a day of school. He was well liked. He was smart and had many friends.

“He began playing rugby with St Senan’s Shannon about six months before he went to secondary school and he excelled at it. By the end of the season he was one of the club’s best players.

“Being a member of the club had an added advantage in that when he went to the comprehensive, he knew many of the lads because they were also club members.

“He started training in rugby with the school and he was very happy.”

6 Some 15 teenagers have reportedly taking their own lives due to the game

Conor’s mum Irina, a former athlete in her native Portugal, also painted a picture of a youngster who loved life.

She said: “He was very talented and as well as rugby he loved playing chess.

“He had everything going for him and there was absolutely no reason for him to commit suicide.”

Greg added: “Conor and Ross were typical brothers. They loved each other and Ross looked up to his older brother. He is having a very hard time right now.”

Conor’s big sister Melanie, who turned 21 yesterday, stressed that a story in a Sunday newspaper was completely wrong.

She said: “I have known him my whole life. He was the happiest boy with so many friends.”

6 Conor's heartbroken sister Melanie

Heartbroken Melanie said while there had been some bullying in the past, there was nothing in recent years.

She added: “This story shames his comprehensive school as well, when they have been nothing but supportive.”

Pleading to her friends not to believe ­anything in the story, she said: “This is hard enough without this added on to it.”

The family have asked Conor’s school principal, who visited them at their home yesterday, to explain to all the students at St Patrick’s the true circumstances surrounding his tragic death.

They also thanked their local community for their support, and their many friends in the Portuguese and Brazilian communities.

Conor will lie in repose at the Sixmilebridge funeral home this evening before being brought home to stay overnight with his family.

His funeral Mass will take place in Sixmilebridge Parish Church at 11am tomorrow.

Last year, an alleged Blue Whale group administrator named as Philipp Budeikin was detained by investigators probing a spate of teenage deaths across Russia.

The 21-year-old has since been charged with organising eight groups between 2013 and 2016 which “promote suicide”.

Some 15 teenagers took their own lives and another five were rescued at the last moment, according to the case against him.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, Childline can be reached at 1800 66 66 66 or by text at 50101