Re: The War Against Boys - Harry Hucknall

[Guest guest]

Tragic Harry's final farewell to his family

Last updated at 14:22, Friday, 01 April 2011

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy kissed his family and said "I love you" before locking himself in his bedroom and hanging himself.

Tragedy: Harry Hucknall

An inquest heard how Harry Hucknall was a `troubled' and `sad little boy' who was being bullied, suffered mental health problems, self-harmed and had a home life which lacked stability.

The hearing at Barrow Town Hall was yesterday told how during his short life he had lived in 14 different homes and attended four schools.

Both his parents told the inquest that he had on separate occasions told them he wanted to die.

After several incidents in 2010 a child psychiatrist deemed him to be "a high suicide risk."

The inquest heard from the boy's father Darren Hucknall, of Newbarns Road, Barrow, who is separated from Harry's mother, Mrs Jane White.

Mr Hucknall said: "He was quiet at times but he was on these tablets and I say they had a major contribution to what happened. He never mentioned killing himself until after he was on these tablets.

"He started changing a month or two after being on them. He said to me he wanted to kill himself. I asked him why and he said ` because it would be funny.' I said to him that it wouldn't be funny for me and and he said `sorry dad.' I think he was doing it to get a response."

Harry's mother, Mrs White, described her son, who attended Romney School in Dalton, as a boy who preferred to be on his own.

She said he had always been a hyperactive child but she noticed a difference in his personality after an incident in October, 2009.

She told the hearing how they had moved to Ullswater Close, Dalton, to get away from bullies in Barrow who had held him down and threatened him with a screwdriver.

Mrs Hucknall said: "It was later in Dalton that his best friend was attacked with a baseball bat by an adult and he went downhill after that. While it was happening he had closed his eyes because he didn't want to see it. When he went to school everyone said he should have stuck up for him but he was too young to help. I remember finding him sat on the stairs rocking and saying he wanted to be dead and if he was his family wouldn't be getting hassle off the other family.

"Next he was sat in class with a jumper over his head and woudn't talk to anyone, even the teachers. He wasn't talking much at home, was having nightmares and wetting himself.

"He started climbing trees and buildings and just throwing himself off. It was like he just didn't care."

Miss White said the school intervened in March, last year and Social Services became involved to help the family.

Harry was diagnosed with clinical depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed the drugs fluoxetine, an anti-depressant, and Ritalin.

His mum said he became like a different boy after that but about a month before he died he began talking about death again and what would happen if he did certain things.

She said she had found out he had been self-harming but had been hiding the scars with long-sleeved jumpers.

Mrs White said: "The day he died he had been swimming with my sister and playing on the Wii. He came back to do his homework at 3pm. We had had a sleepover the night before so me and the four kids went upstairs to tidy their rooms before bed. Harry was folding clothes in his room and before we went downstairs he wanted a kiss and a cuddle off us all and said he loved us all. He was usually quite affectionate but with (his older brother) that wasn't normal.

"We went downstairs but Harry never came down."

She added that when her youngest boy went to bed he found the bedroom door was locked and they were unable to get any response from the room.

A neighbour alerted by the distraught family climbed up a ladder to look in the room and saw Harry had hanged himself.

Mrs White's sister Brown said she had spent a lovely day with Harry the day he died on September 19, last year.

She said Harry had been laughing and enjoying himself.

She said her nephew used to be quiet and "a very sad little boy" but during the summer before his death had developed "a shine in his eyes and a cheeky grin."

Psychiatrist Mr Sumitra Srivastava said he found Harry a "very severely affected young boy" who he initially diagnosed as a "high suicide risk."

He said he was shocked when he was told what had happened.

South and east Cumbrian coroner Mr Ian said the pathologist had said the cause of death was consistent with a ligature around his neck.

He said it was difficult to say how the drugs affected Harry's state of mind but their influence could not be excluded.

The levels of both drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.

Summing up the evidence the coroner said: "He was clearly a troubled boy. His aunt referred to him as `a very sad little boy.' He was sensitive and growing up in surroundings that were not right for him.

"He had a lack of stability and lived in no less than 14 homes and attended four schools. He also did not have the stability of a father figure in his life.

"We have heard he was being bullied. Someone who is perceived as being different makes them withdraw into themselves and the bullying gets worse. The bullying led to self-harming and cutting himself. He also had mental health problems. It is so very sad that a 10-year-old boy had depression and ADHD.

"Suicide is an act that a person does that leads to their own death but it involves a mental intention that they knew what they were doing. We are most certainly not going to see a 10-year-old, in the cold light of day, deciding that was the best thing to do. When he said to his dad about killing himself he said `it would be funny' that shows he did not fully understand.

"The verdict is that Harry died as a result of his own actions without understanding the true consequences."

Harry was a twice-removed cousin of singer Mick Hucknall, the frontman for 1990s chart-toppers Simply Red.

First published at 13:06, Friday, 01 April 2011Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Have your say

awful story but my son was suicidal before going on this medication and is much better on it . surely we can find fault with any medication if we are looking to find blame?

Posted by diane on 4 April 2011 at 19:57

deepest sympathy to the the family..how the hell was a 10 year old put on these tablets in the first place.. antidepressents at 10 years old surely is wasnt the answer.anti depressents are known to have side affects - one of which is death thoughts such a tragedy that shouldnt of happened...rest in peace little man xx

Posted by laura on 4 April 2011 at 19:11

>> http://www.favstocks.com/the-war-against-boys/0441203/> > > The War Against Boys> > By <http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com> on 04/04/2011 -- > 8:57 am PDT> > Let us hope and pray that some good comes from the unbearable death of > ten-year-old Harry Hucknall, found hanged at his Cumbria home last > September. Somebody had 'diagnosed' this little boy with clinical > depression and 'ADHD' and had prescribed an anti-depressant and Ritalin. > The poor child had been horribly bullied at school.> > His parents were separated. He had moved home 14 times. It is hardly > surprising that he was unhappy. Why on earth would anyone think that > drugs were the answer?> > West Cumbria Coroner Ian said that Harry had been given 'two > powerful, mind-altering drugs'. He urged doctors to be 'extremely > careful in prescribing such medication'. I congratulate him on his > understatement.> > Harry's case became known because his cousin is a rock star. How many > other tragedies like this are going unreported? We are long overdue for > a proper inquiry into the prescribing of such drugs, especially to > children. Let it come soon, please.> > /Mostly for being born boys rather than the girls wanted and expected by > their mothers (more and more of whom in any case know little or nothing > about men or boys), half a million British children are now drugged up > to their eyeballs with Ritalin and such like as "treatment" for ADHD and > various other nonexistent conditions./> > /Having long since decided that femaleness, simply in itself, was a > medicable condition requiring the pumping of women's and girls' bodies > full of highly poisonous substances in order to stop those bodies from > doing what they do naturally, we now seem to have decided to treat > maleness in the same way, and to get in even younger than we did with > femaleness./> > /Meanwhile, prisoners are to be tested routinely for ADHD, if that is > not already happening. Criminal behaviour is to be, or is being, defined > as a manifestation of ADHD. Why else bother testing prisoners, in > particular and as such, for it? So they will all be found to have it. > But they don't have it. No one has it. It does not exist./>

[Guest guest]

Tragic Harry's final farewell to his family

Last updated at 14:22, Friday, 01 April 2011

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy kissed his family and said "I love you" before locking himself in his bedroom and hanging himself.

Tragedy: Harry Hucknall

An inquest heard how Harry Hucknall was a `troubled' and `sad little boy' who was being bullied, suffered mental health problems, self-harmed and had a home life which lacked stability.

The hearing at Barrow Town Hall was yesterday told how during his short life he had lived in 14 different homes and attended four schools.

Both his parents told the inquest that he had on separate occasions told them he wanted to die.

After several incidents in 2010 a child psychiatrist deemed him to be "a high suicide risk."

The inquest heard from the boy's father Darren Hucknall, of Newbarns Road, Barrow, who is separated from Harry's mother, Mrs Jane White.

Mr Hucknall said: "He was quiet at times but he was on these tablets and I say they had a major contribution to what happened. He never mentioned killing himself until after he was on these tablets.

"He started changing a month or two after being on them. He said to me he wanted to kill himself. I asked him why and he said ` because it would be funny.' I said to him that it wouldn't be funny for me and and he said `sorry dad.' I think he was doing it to get a response."

Harry's mother, Mrs White, described her son, who attended Romney School in Dalton, as a boy who preferred to be on his own.

She said he had always been a hyperactive child but she noticed a difference in his personality after an incident in October, 2009.

She told the hearing how they had moved to Ullswater Close, Dalton, to get away from bullies in Barrow who had held him down and threatened him with a screwdriver.

Mrs Hucknall said: "It was later in Dalton that his best friend was attacked with a baseball bat by an adult and he went downhill after that. While it was happening he had closed his eyes because he didn't want to see it. When he went to school everyone said he should have stuck up for him but he was too young to help. I remember finding him sat on the stairs rocking and saying he wanted to be dead and if he was his family wouldn't be getting hassle off the other family.

"Next he was sat in class with a jumper over his head and woudn't talk to anyone, even the teachers. He wasn't talking much at home, was having nightmares and wetting himself.

"He started climbing trees and buildings and just throwing himself off. It was like he just didn't care."

Miss White said the school intervened in March, last year and Social Services became involved to help the family.

Harry was diagnosed with clinical depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed the drugs fluoxetine, an anti-depressant, and Ritalin.

His mum said he became like a different boy after that but about a month before he died he began talking about death again and what would happen if he did certain things.

She said she had found out he had been self-harming but had been hiding the scars with long-sleeved jumpers.

Mrs White said: "The day he died he had been swimming with my sister and playing on the Wii. He came back to do his homework at 3pm. We had had a sleepover the night before so me and the four kids went upstairs to tidy their rooms before bed. Harry was folding clothes in his room and before we went downstairs he wanted a kiss and a cuddle off us all and said he loved us all. He was usually quite affectionate but with (his older brother) that wasn't normal.

"We went downstairs but Harry never came down."

She added that when her youngest boy went to bed he found the bedroom door was locked and they were unable to get any response from the room.

A neighbour alerted by the distraught family climbed up a ladder to look in the room and saw Harry had hanged himself.

Mrs White's sister Brown said she had spent a lovely day with Harry the day he died on September 19, last year.

She said Harry had been laughing and enjoying himself.

She said her nephew used to be quiet and "a very sad little boy" but during the summer before his death had developed "a shine in his eyes and a cheeky grin."

Psychiatrist Mr Sumitra Srivastava said he found Harry a "very severely affected young boy" who he initially diagnosed as a "high suicide risk."

He said he was shocked when he was told what had happened.

South and east Cumbrian coroner Mr Ian said the pathologist had said the cause of death was consistent with a ligature around his neck.

He said it was difficult to say how the drugs affected Harry's state of mind but their influence could not be excluded.

The levels of both drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.

Summing up the evidence the coroner said: "He was clearly a troubled boy. His aunt referred to him as `a very sad little boy.' He was sensitive and growing up in surroundings that were not right for him.

"He had a lack of stability and lived in no less than 14 homes and attended four schools. He also did not have the stability of a father figure in his life.

"We have heard he was being bullied. Someone who is perceived as being different makes them withdraw into themselves and the bullying gets worse. The bullying led to self-harming and cutting himself. He also had mental health problems. It is so very sad that a 10-year-old boy had depression and ADHD.

"Suicide is an act that a person does that leads to their own death but it involves a mental intention that they knew what they were doing. We are most certainly not going to see a 10-year-old, in the cold light of day, deciding that was the best thing to do. When he said to his dad about killing himself he said `it would be funny' that shows he did not fully understand.

"The verdict is that Harry died as a result of his own actions without understanding the true consequences."

Harry was a twice-removed cousin of singer Mick Hucknall, the frontman for 1990s chart-toppers Simply Red.

First published at 13:06, Friday, 01 April 2011Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Have your say

awful story but my son was suicidal before going on this medication and is much better on it . surely we can find fault with any medication if we are looking to find blame?

Posted by diane on 4 April 2011 at 19:57

deepest sympathy to the the family..how the hell was a 10 year old put on these tablets in the first place.. antidepressents at 10 years old surely is wasnt the answer.anti depressents are known to have side affects - one of which is death thoughts such a tragedy that shouldnt of happened...rest in peace little man xx

Posted by laura on 4 April 2011 at 19:11

>> http://www.favstocks.com/the-war-against-boys/0441203/> > > The War Against Boys> > By <http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com> on 04/04/2011 -- > 8:57 am PDT> > Let us hope and pray that some good comes from the unbearable death of > ten-year-old Harry Hucknall, found hanged at his Cumbria home last > September. Somebody had 'diagnosed' this little boy with clinical > depression and 'ADHD' and had prescribed an anti-depressant and Ritalin. > The poor child had been horribly bullied at school.> > His parents were separated. He had moved home 14 times. It is hardly > surprising that he was unhappy. Why on earth would anyone think that > drugs were the answer?> > West Cumbria Coroner Ian said that Harry had been given 'two > powerful, mind-altering drugs'. He urged doctors to be 'extremely > careful in prescribing such medication'. I congratulate him on his > understatement.> > Harry's case became known because his cousin is a rock star. How many > other tragedies like this are going unreported? We are long overdue for > a proper inquiry into the prescribing of such drugs, especially to > children. Let it come soon, please.> > /Mostly for being born boys rather than the girls wanted and expected by > their mothers (more and more of whom in any case know little or nothing > about men or boys), half a million British children are now drugged up > to their eyeballs with Ritalin and such like as "treatment" for ADHD and > various other nonexistent conditions./> > /Having long since decided that femaleness, simply in itself, was a > medicable condition requiring the pumping of women's and girls' bodies > full of highly poisonous substances in order to stop those bodies from > doing what they do naturally, we now seem to have decided to treat > maleness in the same way, and to get in even younger than we did with > femaleness./> > /Meanwhile, prisoners are to be tested routinely for ADHD, if that is > not already happening. Criminal behaviour is to be, or is being, defined > as a manifestation of ADHD. Why else bother testing prisoners, in > particular and as such, for it? So they will all be found to have it. > But they don't have it. No one has it. It does not exist./>

[Guest guest]

Tragic Harry's final farewell to his family

Last updated at 14:22, Friday, 01 April 2011

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy kissed his family and said "I love you" before locking himself in his bedroom and hanging himself.

Tragedy: Harry Hucknall

An inquest heard how Harry Hucknall was a `troubled' and `sad little boy' who was being bullied, suffered mental health problems, self-harmed and had a home life which lacked stability.

The hearing at Barrow Town Hall was yesterday told how during his short life he had lived in 14 different homes and attended four schools.

Both his parents told the inquest that he had on separate occasions told them he wanted to die.

After several incidents in 2010 a child psychiatrist deemed him to be "a high suicide risk."

The inquest heard from the boy's father Darren Hucknall, of Newbarns Road, Barrow, who is separated from Harry's mother, Mrs Jane White.

Mr Hucknall said: "He was quiet at times but he was on these tablets and I say they had a major contribution to what happened. He never mentioned killing himself until after he was on these tablets.

"He started changing a month or two after being on them. He said to me he wanted to kill himself. I asked him why and he said ` because it would be funny.' I said to him that it wouldn't be funny for me and and he said `sorry dad.' I think he was doing it to get a response."

Harry's mother, Mrs White, described her son, who attended Romney School in Dalton, as a boy who preferred to be on his own.

She said he had always been a hyperactive child but she noticed a difference in his personality after an incident in October, 2009.

She told the hearing how they had moved to Ullswater Close, Dalton, to get away from bullies in Barrow who had held him down and threatened him with a screwdriver.

Mrs Hucknall said: "It was later in Dalton that his best friend was attacked with a baseball bat by an adult and he went downhill after that. While it was happening he had closed his eyes because he didn't want to see it. When he went to school everyone said he should have stuck up for him but he was too young to help. I remember finding him sat on the stairs rocking and saying he wanted to be dead and if he was his family wouldn't be getting hassle off the other family.

"Next he was sat in class with a jumper over his head and woudn't talk to anyone, even the teachers. He wasn't talking much at home, was having nightmares and wetting himself.

"He started climbing trees and buildings and just throwing himself off. It was like he just didn't care."

Miss White said the school intervened in March, last year and Social Services became involved to help the family.

Harry was diagnosed with clinical depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed the drugs fluoxetine, an anti-depressant, and Ritalin.

His mum said he became like a different boy after that but about a month before he died he began talking about death again and what would happen if he did certain things.

She said she had found out he had been self-harming but had been hiding the scars with long-sleeved jumpers.

Mrs White said: "The day he died he had been swimming with my sister and playing on the Wii. He came back to do his homework at 3pm. We had had a sleepover the night before so me and the four kids went upstairs to tidy their rooms before bed. Harry was folding clothes in his room and before we went downstairs he wanted a kiss and a cuddle off us all and said he loved us all. He was usually quite affectionate but with (his older brother) that wasn't normal.

"We went downstairs but Harry never came down."

She added that when her youngest boy went to bed he found the bedroom door was locked and they were unable to get any response from the room.

A neighbour alerted by the distraught family climbed up a ladder to look in the room and saw Harry had hanged himself.

Mrs White's sister Brown said she had spent a lovely day with Harry the day he died on September 19, last year.

She said Harry had been laughing and enjoying himself.

She said her nephew used to be quiet and "a very sad little boy" but during the summer before his death had developed "a shine in his eyes and a cheeky grin."

Psychiatrist Mr Sumitra Srivastava said he found Harry a "very severely affected young boy" who he initially diagnosed as a "high suicide risk."

He said he was shocked when he was told what had happened.

South and east Cumbrian coroner Mr Ian said the pathologist had said the cause of death was consistent with a ligature around his neck.

He said it was difficult to say how the drugs affected Harry's state of mind but their influence could not be excluded.

The levels of both drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.

Summing up the evidence the coroner said: "He was clearly a troubled boy. His aunt referred to him as `a very sad little boy.' He was sensitive and growing up in surroundings that were not right for him.

"He had a lack of stability and lived in no less than 14 homes and attended four schools. He also did not have the stability of a father figure in his life.

"We have heard he was being bullied. Someone who is perceived as being different makes them withdraw into themselves and the bullying gets worse. The bullying led to self-harming and cutting himself. He also had mental health problems. It is so very sad that a 10-year-old boy had depression and ADHD.

"Suicide is an act that a person does that leads to their own death but it involves a mental intention that they knew what they were doing. We are most certainly not going to see a 10-year-old, in the cold light of day, deciding that was the best thing to do. When he said to his dad about killing himself he said `it would be funny' that shows he did not fully understand.

"The verdict is that Harry died as a result of his own actions without understanding the true consequences."

Harry was a twice-removed cousin of singer Mick Hucknall, the frontman for 1990s chart-toppers Simply Red.

First published at 13:06, Friday, 01 April 2011Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Have your say

awful story but my son was suicidal before going on this medication and is much better on it . surely we can find fault with any medication if we are looking to find blame?

Posted by diane on 4 April 2011 at 19:57

deepest sympathy to the the family..how the hell was a 10 year old put on these tablets in the first place.. antidepressents at 10 years old surely is wasnt the answer.anti depressents are known to have side affects - one of which is death thoughts such a tragedy that shouldnt of happened...rest in peace little man xx

Posted by laura on 4 April 2011 at 19:11

>> http://www.favstocks.com/the-war-against-boys/0441203/> > > The War Against Boys> > By <http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com> on 04/04/2011 -- > 8:57 am PDT> > Let us hope and pray that some good comes from the unbearable death of > ten-year-old Harry Hucknall, found hanged at his Cumbria home last > September. Somebody had 'diagnosed' this little boy with clinical > depression and 'ADHD' and had prescribed an anti-depressant and Ritalin. > The poor child had been horribly bullied at school.> > His parents were separated. He had moved home 14 times. It is hardly > surprising that he was unhappy. Why on earth would anyone think that > drugs were the answer?> > West Cumbria Coroner Ian said that Harry had been given 'two > powerful, mind-altering drugs'. He urged doctors to be 'extremely > careful in prescribing such medication'. I congratulate him on his > understatement.> > Harry's case became known because his cousin is a rock star. How many > other tragedies like this are going unreported? We are long overdue for > a proper inquiry into the prescribing of such drugs, especially to > children. Let it come soon, please.> > /Mostly for being born boys rather than the girls wanted and expected by > their mothers (more and more of whom in any case know little or nothing > about men or boys), half a million British children are now drugged up > to their eyeballs with Ritalin and such like as "treatment" for ADHD and > various other nonexistent conditions./> > /Having long since decided that femaleness, simply in itself, was a > medicable condition requiring the pumping of women's and girls' bodies > full of highly poisonous substances in order to stop those bodies from > doing what they do naturally, we now seem to have decided to treat > maleness in the same way, and to get in even younger than we did with > femaleness./> > /Meanwhile, prisoners are to be tested routinely for ADHD, if that is > not already happening. Criminal behaviour is to be, or is being, defined > as a manifestation of ADHD. Why else bother testing prisoners, in > particular and as such, for it? So they will all be found to have it. > But they don't have it. No one has it. It does not exist./>

[Guest guest]

Tragic Harry's final farewell to his family

Last updated at 14:22, Friday, 01 April 2011

A 10-YEAR-OLD boy kissed his family and said "I love you" before locking himself in his bedroom and hanging himself.

Tragedy: Harry Hucknall

An inquest heard how Harry Hucknall was a `troubled' and `sad little boy' who was being bullied, suffered mental health problems, self-harmed and had a home life which lacked stability.

The hearing at Barrow Town Hall was yesterday told how during his short life he had lived in 14 different homes and attended four schools.

Both his parents told the inquest that he had on separate occasions told them he wanted to die.

After several incidents in 2010 a child psychiatrist deemed him to be "a high suicide risk."

The inquest heard from the boy's father Darren Hucknall, of Newbarns Road, Barrow, who is separated from Harry's mother, Mrs Jane White.

Mr Hucknall said: "He was quiet at times but he was on these tablets and I say they had a major contribution to what happened. He never mentioned killing himself until after he was on these tablets.

"He started changing a month or two after being on them. He said to me he wanted to kill himself. I asked him why and he said ` because it would be funny.' I said to him that it wouldn't be funny for me and and he said `sorry dad.' I think he was doing it to get a response."

Harry's mother, Mrs White, described her son, who attended Romney School in Dalton, as a boy who preferred to be on his own.

She said he had always been a hyperactive child but she noticed a difference in his personality after an incident in October, 2009.

She told the hearing how they had moved to Ullswater Close, Dalton, to get away from bullies in Barrow who had held him down and threatened him with a screwdriver.

Mrs Hucknall said: "It was later in Dalton that his best friend was attacked with a baseball bat by an adult and he went downhill after that. While it was happening he had closed his eyes because he didn't want to see it. When he went to school everyone said he should have stuck up for him but he was too young to help. I remember finding him sat on the stairs rocking and saying he wanted to be dead and if he was his family wouldn't be getting hassle off the other family.

"Next he was sat in class with a jumper over his head and woudn't talk to anyone, even the teachers. He wasn't talking much at home, was having nightmares and wetting himself.

"He started climbing trees and buildings and just throwing himself off. It was like he just didn't care."

Miss White said the school intervened in March, last year and Social Services became involved to help the family.

Harry was diagnosed with clinical depression and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and prescribed the drugs fluoxetine, an anti-depressant, and Ritalin.

His mum said he became like a different boy after that but about a month before he died he began talking about death again and what would happen if he did certain things.

She said she had found out he had been self-harming but had been hiding the scars with long-sleeved jumpers.

Mrs White said: "The day he died he had been swimming with my sister and playing on the Wii. He came back to do his homework at 3pm. We had had a sleepover the night before so me and the four kids went upstairs to tidy their rooms before bed. Harry was folding clothes in his room and before we went downstairs he wanted a kiss and a cuddle off us all and said he loved us all. He was usually quite affectionate but with (his older brother) that wasn't normal.

"We went downstairs but Harry never came down."

She added that when her youngest boy went to bed he found the bedroom door was locked and they were unable to get any response from the room.

A neighbour alerted by the distraught family climbed up a ladder to look in the room and saw Harry had hanged himself.

Mrs White's sister Brown said she had spent a lovely day with Harry the day he died on September 19, last year.

She said Harry had been laughing and enjoying himself.

She said her nephew used to be quiet and "a very sad little boy" but during the summer before his death had developed "a shine in his eyes and a cheeky grin."

Psychiatrist Mr Sumitra Srivastava said he found Harry a "very severely affected young boy" who he initially diagnosed as a "high suicide risk."

He said he was shocked when he was told what had happened.

South and east Cumbrian coroner Mr Ian said the pathologist had said the cause of death was consistent with a ligature around his neck.

He said it was difficult to say how the drugs affected Harry's state of mind but their influence could not be excluded.

The levels of both drugs found in his system were above the normal therapeutic level for adults.

Summing up the evidence the coroner said: "He was clearly a troubled boy. His aunt referred to him as `a very sad little boy.' He was sensitive and growing up in surroundings that were not right for him.

"He had a lack of stability and lived in no less than 14 homes and attended four schools. He also did not have the stability of a father figure in his life.

"We have heard he was being bullied. Someone who is perceived as being different makes them withdraw into themselves and the bullying gets worse. The bullying led to self-harming and cutting himself. He also had mental health problems. It is so very sad that a 10-year-old boy had depression and ADHD.

"Suicide is an act that a person does that leads to their own death but it involves a mental intention that they knew what they were doing. We are most certainly not going to see a 10-year-old, in the cold light of day, deciding that was the best thing to do. When he said to his dad about killing himself he said `it would be funny' that shows he did not fully understand.

"The verdict is that Harry died as a result of his own actions without understanding the true consequences."

Harry was a twice-removed cousin of singer Mick Hucknall, the frontman for 1990s chart-toppers Simply Red.

First published at 13:06, Friday, 01 April 2011Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

Have your say

awful story but my son was suicidal before going on this medication and is much better on it . surely we can find fault with any medication if we are looking to find blame?

Posted by diane on 4 April 2011 at 19:57

deepest sympathy to the the family..how the hell was a 10 year old put on these tablets in the first place.. antidepressents at 10 years old surely is wasnt the answer.anti depressents are known to have side affects - one of which is death thoughts such a tragedy that shouldnt of happened...rest in peace little man xx

Posted by laura on 4 April 2011 at 19:11

>> http://www.favstocks.com/the-war-against-boys/0441203/> > > The War Against Boys> > By <http://davidaslindsay.blogspot.com> on 04/04/2011 -- > 8:57 am PDT> > Let us hope and pray that some good comes from the unbearable death of > ten-year-old Harry Hucknall, found hanged at his Cumbria home last > September. Somebody had 'diagnosed' this little boy with clinical > depression and 'ADHD' and had prescribed an anti-depressant and Ritalin. > The poor child had been horribly bullied at school.> > His parents were separated. He had moved home 14 times. It is hardly > surprising that he was unhappy. Why on earth would anyone think that > drugs were the answer?> > West Cumbria Coroner Ian said that Harry had been given 'two > powerful, mind-altering drugs'. He urged doctors to be 'extremely > careful in prescribing such medication'. I congratulate him on his > understatement.> > Harry's case became known because his cousin is a rock star. How many > other tragedies like this are going unreported? We are long overdue for > a proper inquiry into the prescribing of such drugs, especially to > children. Let it come soon, please.> > /Mostly for being born boys rather than the girls wanted and expected by > their mothers (more and more of whom in any case know little or nothing > about men or boys), half a million British children are now drugged up > to their eyeballs with Ritalin and such like as "treatment" for ADHD and > various other nonexistent conditions./> > /Having long since decided that femaleness, simply in itself, was a > medicable condition requiring the pumping of women's and girls' bodies > full of highly poisonous substances in order to stop those bodies from > doing what they do naturally, we now seem to have decided to treat > maleness in the same way, and to get in even younger than we did with > femaleness./> > /Meanwhile, prisoners are to be tested routinely for ADHD, if that is > not already happening. Criminal behaviour is to be, or is being, defined > as a manifestation of ADHD. Why else bother testing prisoners, in > particular and as such, for it? So they will all be found to have it. > But they don't have it. No one has it. It does not exist./>