Social website could be linked to copycat suicides

The deaths of seven young people from the same town in South Wales could be linked to a suicide craze sweeping a social networking internet site, British police believe.

Natasha Randall, 17, is believed to have become the latest victim after she was found dead in her bedroom in her family's Bridgend home last Thursday.

Police fear her death could be linked to six other copycat suicides in the same town, all of which appear to have been prompted by messages on networking websites.

Detectives believed many of the victims had their own web pages on the social networking site Bebo and could have been driven to kill themselves as a way of gaining prestige among their friends.

After their deaths, friends set up "memorial" websites for each of them so people could leave messages, photographs and video tributes.

"They may think it's cool to have a memorial website," one officer told The Times newspaper.

"It may even be a way of achieving prestige among their peer group."

Within a day of Natasha's death, two of her 15-year-old friends tried to commit suicide.

One remains on life support while the other is recovering.

- AAP