Facebook failed to stop the live stream of a father’s suicide despite reports of dozens of people warning the platform what was happening.
Jonathan ‘Bazza’ Bailey, 50, posted that he was going to kill himself at 1pm on Saturday before starting a live stream, according to The Sun.
More than 400 people are believed to have watched the live stream, some of whom desperately tried to alert Facebook to the situation.
A friend wrote on Facebook to say he drove to Mr Bailey’s house in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, to try and stop him from hanging himself but when he arrived police had already taken him away.
Mr Bailey is believed to have written, ‘I’m Going to Hang Myself Today’, on Facebook before starting a live stream, according to an obituary on The Arts of Entertainment.
His daughter, Lucy Bailey, took to Facebook to detail her despair at mental health services in the UK.
She wrote: ‘Something needs to change, I can’t explain how many times you’ve been let down by the mental health services.
‘I’m never going get my head around the fact we can’t speak everyday anymore I can’t see you hug you.
‘I’m forever going to try and do you proud.’
Alongside her emotional post she uploaded two screenshots of text messages from Mr Bailey where he explains how he wasn’t being offered enough advice on correct medications to take for his depression.
He detailed how he rang a crisis team to ask for help but was simply told that it would take four to six weeks for the medication to have an effect.
And he vented his frustration that his medication was only allowed to be changed by his psychiatrist but he wasn’t able to get an appointment with his psychiatrist until November 22.
A spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts go out to Mr Bailey’s family at this difficult time.
‘We can confirm that the livestream was deleted very soon after being posted and this further post has also now been removed at the family’s request.
‘We take the responsibility of keeping people safe on our platforms seriously, and we will continue to work closely with experts like The Samaritans to ensure our policies continue to support those in need.’
