A grieving mum says her heartbreak will 'never end' after her daughter took her own life when she fell out with friends over a music festival ticket.
Karen Carter, 48, has spoken out about the 'devastating' effects of bullying on social media, which she says stole 20-year-old Molly from her.
The aspiring hairdresser tragically died after a row with friends over Parklife tickets in the summer of 2017.
Molly had purchased a £70 ticket to the show, but her friends had taken it from her as they wanted to bring a different pal with them.
Karen, from Burnley in Lancashire, said it was the 'final straw' for her bubbly daughter, who often felt her friends were excluding her.
She says her daughter endured years of bullying, such as her friends leaving nasty comments on pictures online and going on holidays without her.
An inquest into her death last month recorded a verdict of misadventure - but Karen says this has left her feeling 'enraged' and empty', as many of her questions remain unanswered.
Now, in the hope of protecting other young people, Karen is urging people to be kinder to each other, and has spoken of how online abuse is 'impossible to escape'.
"We have to be kinder to each other and realise that what we say and do can have an everlasting impact," she said.
"She was a bubbly, kind, and friendly girl but she had some issues with her friends because they were excluding her a lot.
"Online abuse is impossible to escape. When I was younger the bullying would stop when you got home.
"There were so many little things they would do, but they weren’t little things to my Molly.
"Parklife was the final straw for her, it all escalated from there.
"Now I’ll never have her back. She’s been stolen from me."
The loss of her daughter has left Karen, a former cleaner, unable to work and she now suffers with severe anxiety and PTSD.
"My life will never be the same, something will always be missing," she said.
"I want girls to know they can be themselves, they don’t need to feel all of that pressure you get from seeing comments online or nasty horrible things on social media."
Despite the argument, Molly attended the festival in June 2017 but left after she became fearful her drink had been spiked.
She rang her mum, saying someone had put something in her tea and that her friends were being 'nasty' to her.
After ten days under observation at Burnley General Hospital, she was sectioned and then transferred between mental health units in Blackburn, Bradford and eventually Blackpool over the space of two weeks.
But a few weeks after being discharged, she was tragically found dead on August 29, 2017.
Karen, who is also a single mum to another daughter, 15 and son, 26, says in the weeks before her death Molly was unrecognisable and 'looked like a zombie'.
She says her daughter, who had never been away from home, was 'never right' after being sectioned and that better support services for young people with mental illnesses are also needed.
"It’s going to keep happening to young people until we do something about it," she continued.
"Molly always used to say that we’ve got to help people, she was so kind and thoughtful.
"But when she was sectioned they kept moving her about.
"Young and vulnerable people shouldn’t be taken far away from their homes.
"She was never right after that, I couldn’t even recognise her anymore, she was like a sick drugged up zombie when she got out.
"I just feel like the system is broken. It’s supposed to help someone who is going through a difficult time, but it doesn’t.
"I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again to anyone else. No one should go through what we’ve gone through."
The heartbroken mum described her daughter as her best friend - and says she misses her 'sparkle' every dy.
"Build people up, don’t bring them down Molly used to say to me," she continued.
"I miss her so much. She was my best friend, we spent so much time together and spoke about everything. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her.
"She used to say never let anyone dull your sparkle, and I miss her sparkle every day."
Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org
