Mum reveals 10-year-old daughter is on 'suicide watch' over 'ugly or not' Instagram poll

Mia-Lili's mum, Corrinia, makes sure someone is with her daughter 24 hours a day

A devastated mum has put her daughter on 'suicide watch' after the 10-year-old discovered an 'ugly or not' poll launched by cyber bullies.

Mia-Lili Bennett has not stopped crying since she saw the cruel Instagram poll.

And her parents Corrinia Bennet, 33, and John Bennett, 42, are watching her around the clock because she keeps talking about 'ending it all.'

The post featured a photo of Mia-Lili's face with the words 'who thinks she ugly' plastered over it - to which 53 per cent responded 'hell ya'.

Bullies created an account called puglife123456 under Mia-Lili's name to post the survey and a family friend alerted Corrinia to it last week.

The mum-of-three, who lives in Norwich, Norfolk, claims she immediately reported the poll to Instagram who have removed the post.

Shocked by what she had seen, Corrinia then faced the devastating task of showing Mia-Lili the post to find out if she knew about it, leaving her blissfully unaware little girl in floods of tears and suicidal.

Corrinia, customer experience assistant at a bookmakers, said: "I was made aware that this post had been going round by a friend. I reported it straight away and so did a few other people.

"Instagram were really good and they have taken it down.

"But the next day I needed to wake up my daughter and ask her about it. I didn't want to show her but I needed to know what had been going on.

"She saw the post and just started crying. She cried so much she collapsed and her dad had to scoop her up off the floor.

"She hasn't stopped crying since and neither have I to be honest.

"We've had to put her on suicide watch at home. Her dad and I have to make sure someone is with her 24 hours a day because she keeps talking about ending it all.

The Instagram poll that reduced Mia-Lili to tears

"She had hairbands tied up in a hoop on her bed and I had to take them down because I was terrified what she might try to do.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking. I never thought I would be dealing with my daughter being a victim of cyber bullying at such a young age. They're still so innocent at this age.

"Even though you're always going to be there for your kids when something happens, you don't expect something this evil to happen. It's horrible.

"For someone to even think about being that malicious is horrendous.

"It has completely destroyed her confidence, she's very self-conscious about the way she looks. We tell her she's beautiful all the time but she won't believe it.

"After it happened, Mia-Lili felt so self-conscious she didn't want to go to school anymore but she went on Friday and she told me, 'I won't let them win'. I'm so proud of her.

"She has the kindest heart. She always gives homeless people her pocket money and if you ask her if she wants something from a shop she'll say she needs to get something for her dad and sisters first.

"She's so willing to open her heart to people. Even if they're horrible to her she calls them her friends. I don't understand why they can't treat her with the same kindness."

The mum also contacted Norfolk police to report the cyber bullying and says they were 'brilliant' at consoling Mia-Lili.

A spokesman for Norfolk Constabulary confirmed the investigation is still ongoing.

Without her mum's consent Mia-Lili set up an Instagram account at the beginning of June but confessed to Corrinia a couple of hours later.

The mum told her daughter she was not allowed to have a social media account until she meets the required aged limits - with Instagram only allowing accounts for 13 year olds and over.

Mia-Lili did as her mum asked and deleted the account but in the few hours it was live, someone got hold of the little girl's profile photo and turned it into a nasty poll.

Since the incident Mia-Lili's mum, dad and sisters Lexi-May Bennett, nine, and Neave-Marie Bennett, four, are giving the schoolgirl as much love and support as possible.

And Corrinia is now urging all parents to watch their children's internet activity more diligently to ensure they don't become victims of online trolls.

Corrinia said: "When Mia-Lili told me she had set up an Instagram account, I told her straight away it needed to be taken down and uninstalled as she's not old enough yet.

"She did what I asked like she normally does and took it down. We didn't hear anything else of it until we heard about the poll.

"Kids don't know how to set their accounts to private so it's all public and someone got hold of her photo.

"I reported it to the police and they have been brilliant. They told Mia-Lili it's not her fault because she has been blaming herself, she thinks it's her fault for setting up an account.

"She has been the victim of severe bullying before. The kids used to rub her tummy and call her fat. We used to live in London and we moved to Norwich for a fresh start.

"We had finally got her confidence back up but now it is completely gone again.

"Her dad has been so strong for her, he always is in these situations. And her little sister Lexi-May is so angry for her. We're doing our best to have as much family time as possible."

Corrinia added: "As a mum you blame yourself. You wonder if you're doing something wrong, putting her in the wrong clothes or shoes. You think it's your fault that your child is being targeted.

"Parents need to be so vigilant when their children use the internet.

"And if some parents do think it's okay to let their kids use social media then they need to keep an eye on what they're posting and who's sending them private messages.

"It's not just bullies, there are so many predators out there. It is so dangerous and as parents you need to do everything you can to keep your children safe."

A Norfolk police spokesman said: "The Instagram poll was reported to us on July 10. We are still in quite early stages but the investigation is ongoing."

Michelle Napchan, Head of Public Policy for Instagram in EMEA, said: “People want to feel free to express themselves online without fear of being bullied or attacked.

“That’s why Instagram provides the tools to help people report any offensive or hurtful content and has a team of reviewers to remove anything that violates our guidelines which clearly state there is no place for bullying on Instagram.”