A boy of 14 — who was due to become a father — has died after being found hanging at his grandparents’ home.
Liam Hardy was taken to hospital after a cardiac arrest but died eight days later. It is feared he may have fallen victim to the “fainting game”, a craze that began in America in which young people choke themselves to achieve a brief high.
Liam — whose girlfriend, schoolgirl Paige Ramsay, is pregnant with their daughter — was today described as “outstanding” and “one in a million”.
His friends at Carshalton Boys’ Sports College are receiving counselling and a memorial set up in front of the school is covered in flowers and messages.
Liam was found unconscious at his grandparents’ home in Sutton and was taken to St George’s Hospital in Tooting.
He died last Tuesday. Paige left a series of messages on a Facebook page set up in his memory, describing her loss and devastation at his death.
In one she wrote: “Not long until our baby girl is here Liam. I can’t wait to meet her so then I’m finally holding part of you again.
"I know I always said I was scared of giving birth but now I just don’t care because then you’ll finally be looking back at me again. We love you so much you beautiful boy.”
A relative wrote: “He was one in a million — an outstanding boy, thoughtful, kind and caring.”
College headmaster Simon Barber said Liam was “popular, likeable and good at sport”. An inquest was opened and adjourned.
Police are not treating the death as suspicious. Campaign groups say 86 young people in Britain may have died as a result of the fainting game — including William Lippell Stanesby, 12, of Tunbridge Wells, found unconscious in June last year.
Medical experts have warned that depriving the brain of oxygen for too long can lead to death.
