Coroner’s warning as teenager, 14, is found hanged from a bunk bed after playing violent video game Call Of Duty with his stepfather..

Tragic: Callum Green hanged himself after he had played the controversial video game Call of Duty.

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Parents should not allow their young children to have access to 18-plus video games after a schoolboy hanged himself after playing the ultra-violent Call Of Duty, a coroner has warned.

Callum Green, 14, regularly played the 18-certificate game with his stepfather despite it featuring graphically realistic scenes of soldiers carrying out gruesome killings.

The teenager then began telling his 13-year old girlfriend how he wanted to run away from home and have a baby with her, his inquest was told.

Scary: Call of Duty has an 18 certificate and is one of the gorier video games on the market.

After being grounded by his mother following a row he was found hanging by his school tie from his metal framed bunk bed.

At an inquest in Stockport, Greater Manchester coroner John Pollard said he could not understand why anyone would want to play the video game series which has sold 100 million copies around the world.

Earlier this year Norwegian mass killer Anders Breivik had claimed he had 'trained to kill' his 77 victims by playing the Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare game. He said it helped him 'develop target acquisition' using 'holographic' technology.

Terrorist Mohammed Merah, 18, also played Call Of Duty before causing terror across south west France in March when he shot dead three soldiers and four civilians, including a Rabbi and three children, at a Jewish school in Toulouse.

In recording an open verdict Mr Pollard told Callum’s family: 'The age limitations on these various computer games are there for a very valid reason and I do see the evidence of inappropriate computer games.

'Why quite frankly anybody would want to be playing them, I don’t know.

Discovery: The home of schoolboy Callum Green near Stockport, where he was found after a family row about being 'grounded'.

'It’s very important that young children don’t play them or have access to them.

'I make a plea with parents to keep a very close eye on their children in that way.

'For whatever reason and it is I’m afraid somewhat mysterious Callum just decided that he was going to put the tie around his neck and suspend himself from the bunk beds.

'Was that with the intention of killing himself or just to give you a shock, we don’t know.'

Before he died at his family home near Stockport in March last year, Callum had been upstairs in his bedroom playing on the computer, though his family said he was probably using Facebook and Youtube.

But the hearing was told he had been a fan of playing Call Of Duty, where players are 'soldiers' fighting in current wars and played frequently with stepdad, David White.

When asked about the game and it’s 18 certificate by the coroner, Callum’s mother Emma Green became visibly upset, admitting she had known of the age restriction.

She told the coroner: 'Callum was 14, 15, he was very mature.

'Kids play worse games than that. He was allowed to play Call Of Duty but not other games. He was only allowed a few hours on the PC.

'Does that make me a bad parent? Because I let him play those games?

'I banned him from other games where they slash their throats and stuff, I stopped him playing that, but Call Of Duty I didn’t.'

The court heard that on the day Callum had died he had stayed home from school with a sprained ankle and had argued with his younger sister when she returned that afternoon about making a sandwich.

A plate had been broken in the kitchen and Callum was told he was grounded by his mother.

Callum became quite upset but remained downstairs with the family, having something to eat and drink in the kitchen before going to his room to use the computer.

At around 4:50pm, his mother went upstairs to use the bathroom and found him.

Devastated: Emma Green, mother of Callum, admitted she had alowed him to play Call Of Duty but not other games.

Statement: Coroner John Pollard, left, has issued a warning to all parents after about ultra-violent games like Call Of Duty, played famously by mass murderer Anders Breivik, right.

Giving evidence, Mrs Green, said: 'After the argument he went in the front room and started crying, he asked to go out.

'He was grounded because on Wednesday he met up with Chloe and he didn’t come back until 11:20 at night so I grounded him.

'In the kitchen he had something to eat and drink and then he went upstairs on the computer on Facebook and Youtube.

CALL OF DUTY: THE CONTROVERSY

The violent game puts the player in the character of a soldier in a series of challenges based around a war.

In one of the series' most controversial scenes, the player is a CIA operative who has infiltrated a Russian terror group involved in a gun attack on an airport.

In order to protect his cover, the agent can join in the slaughter of civilians.

The scene has been compared to the Mumbai terror attacks. The level is prefaced with a warning and an option to skip it.

Keith Vaz MP, the chairman of the Commons home affairs select committee, said last year he was 'absolutely shocked' that the game contained such scenes of 'brutality'.

He has asked ministers what steps have been taken to ensure violent games do not fall into the hands of children and teenagers.

Its publishers, the U.S. firm Activision, said: 'Consistent with its content, the game is rated 18 by PEGI [the Europe-wide rating system].

'The rating is prominently displayed on the front and back of the packaging, as well as in all advertising.

'I was watching telly and I went upstairs about 4:50pm and that’s when I found him.

'I was going to the toilet but I was thinking of letting him go out.'

Miss Green described Callum as happy and that he had never given any indication of wanting to harm himself or being desperately unhappy.

The inquest was told Callum had an ‘on, off’ relationship with a girl called, Chloe Kirkham, who had previously dated one of his friends, Aaron Burgess, just before him.

He and Aaron were noted as arguing on Facebook a lot but in his evidence Aaron said he and Callum were friends really, though they didn’t always talk much.

He said: 'Every time I saw him he always had a smile on his face.'

Miss Green disputed that they were friends saying that a message Aaron had wrote on Facebook to Callum was ‘sick.’

Chloe Kirkham, 13, Callum’s girlfriend, gave evidence in which she described him as being happy, smiling and said that he loved to play football on Sundays.

Speaking to Callum’s mum, she said: 'He told me that you always grounded him and that he wasn’t happy at home.

'He kept asking if I would have a kid with him and I said no, I’d only just turned 13.

'He said he wanted to get away from home.”

Teachers at the 1,200 pupil Audenshaw High School where Callum attended said when he first started he had attendance and homework problems but that these had significantly improved.

Head of year Tracey Kelly said the school had looked into issues of bullying but that they could find no evidence of any bullying and that Callum had seemed mostly settled at school.

MPs have called for new restrictions on violent video games with Labour backbencher Keith Vaz, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee leading calls for new powers to ban material rather than only apply age classification.

A spokesman for Audenshaw High School said: 'It was with the greatest sadness that the school learnt of the sudden death of Callum Green.

'Callum was a friendly and popular student. He was liked and respected by staff and students alike. 'The passing of a member of the school community produces a great sense of loss. The thoughts and prayers of all at Audenshaw School are with Callum’s family and friends at this extremely sad time.'

Culled from The Daily Mail UK.

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