British man commits suicide on live web chat

A father-of-two hanged himself live over the internet in Britain's first 'cyber suicide'.

Kevin Whitrick, 42, took his life after being goaded by dozens of chatroom users from across the world who initially believed he was play acting.

But as they watched in horror, Mr Whitrick climbed onto a chair, smashed through a ceiling and then hanged himself with a piece of rope.



Stunned by what they had witnessed - broadcast on web-chat site PalTalk , used by millions of people across the globe - chatroom users immediately contacted the police.

Officers rushed to the electrician's home in the Wellington area of Shropshire within minutes, smashing down the door to try to save him.

But despite their efforts to save him, he was pronounced dead at the scene.