Joe Marler fears over son's phone use after girl, 12, took her own life after being left 'almost nocturnal' by phone addiction
The former England rugby star only allows his son, also 12, to use a phone without internet
Former England rugby star Joe Marler has opened up on his fears over his 12-year-old son's mobile phone use after a schoolgirl took her own life following an addiction to hers.
Listen to this article
The ex-Harlequins forward turned TV star told LBC that his child has no access to social media, and has a "balance phone" which only allows calls and text messages to be sent.
It comes after Angel Karanja, also 12, from Poole, Dorset, was found dead in her bedroom in March.
An inquest into her death this week heard Angel had been a "model pupil" at primary school but found the transition to secondary difficult.
Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google
Read more: Social media companies unable to say how many times dangerous videos watched
Read more: EU Commission proposes social media ban for children under 13
Her father Eliud Matindi told the hearing in Bournemouth this week that his daughter became "almost nocturnal" because of her phone use.
Reacting to the case, Mr Marler told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "Me and my wife have been very strict and hard on mobile phones and social media.
"He [our son] doesn't have it. He's got a phone that's called a balance phone that is just black and white.
"It can call and it can message but there's no internet.
"It was quite the decision to take. We thought, 'hang on a minute', he's going to go to a school where everyone's got phones, everyone's got social media.
"Is he going to get picked on? Is he going to stand out? But then we thought we should trust that we've built him up to be a strong enough character to deal with that and not worry about that.
"Now he's more interested in going to see his mates, fishing, and going to play football."
He added: "We're proud that he's responded well to that.
"But to hear that is just devastating for that 12-year-old girl. It shouldn't be the case that a 12-year-old can't see a way out, it's horrible."
The inquest into Angel's death heard that the Year 8 student was found dead at her home at 7.30am, but police discovered she had received messages on Snapchat just hours earlier at 5am.
An analysis of her phone found no evidence of cyber bullying or searches relating to suicide.
Coroner Brendan Allen recorded a narrative conclusion that Angel died as a consequence of ligature suspension but added: "Her intention is not explained by the evidence."
Mr Matindi told the hearing: "We have so many wonderful memories of her.
"She was a model student at primary school and never got into trouble and was polite to everyone.“But I would describe her transition to her new school as difficult.
"It was much larger, and she was very reluctant to attend."
The father added: "She missed a lot of classes and her academic performance was affected.
"As she got older, I noticed she became more withdrawn and spent more and more time on the phone watching YouTube and playing games.
"I would describe her as almost nocturnal and she slept through the day."
The impact of suicide reaches far and wide. Call Samaritans for free on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or visit samaritans.org for more information.