A schoolgirl has been found hanged from a tree in an apparent suicide — a year after a fellow pupil killed himself after being bullied.

Belinda Allen, 14, was a pupil at Tanbridge House School in Horsham, West Sussex. Ben Vodden, 11, had been taunted by other pupils there and a school bus driver before he hanged himself in December 2006.

Passers-by found Belinda suspended from a tree on Tuesday evening. She had a scarf tied around her neck.

Her parents, Kevin and Lindsey Allen, and her older brother, Russell, said in a statement yesterday: “Belinda was much loved by all of her family and friends. She was bright, bubbly, fun-loving and kind. We are all going to miss her very much.”

A friend of Belinda’s, who asked not to be named, said that Belinda was also a victim of bullying at the school and was called a lesbian by classmates who laughed at her dress sense.

The 15-year-old friend said: “It’s such a massive shock that Belinda is dead. People picked on her because she was a bit different. She was very quiet, but she was teased about her name and what she wore. She liked wearing dresses and the bullies called her a lesbian.”

She added: “I knew Belinda was being bullied, but I didn’t know how badly she had taken it. On the outside she was happy and bubbly.

“It wasn’t so much a particular gang that bullied Belinda, it was just a variety of different people at the school, but that’s what it’s like at schools these days. Kids are like that. They bully people for anything, whether it’s true or not.”

Belinda, of Southwater, West Sussex, was a budding dancer who had hopes of studying at a performing arts school. She left suicide notes addressed to her parents and teachers. Sussex Police said that they were investigating an apparent suicide.

Friends posted tributes to Belinda on community websites. Laura Kingdon, a close friend, wrote: “We will miss you, and you are always in our thoughts.”

Hinting at the girl’s troubles, Beka Jackson, a classmate, wrote: “I know that you were in a bad state but I was here for you and I told you that every day. I shall miss you. The thing my mind can’t get over is the fact that I only spoke to you yesterday. I thought that we would graduate Tanbridge together and keep in contact, but now I guess that shall not come true. The pain is unknown to my mind and body its physically and mentally a huge shock to everyone.”

Yesterday pupils at the school were having counselling. Jules White, the headmaster, was unable to say whether Belinda’s death was related to bullying, but said that the school was in shock as a result of her death.

In a statement, Mr White said: “This tragedy has affected our school community very deeply. I informed all students and staff about this distressing news directly this morning. Their response has been remarkable. The care and compassion everyone has shown to each other has been uplifting in these most difficult of times. Students have also been given plentiful access to appropriate professional support.

“First and foremost our thoughts are with the student’s family and it goes without saying that we have already been in contact to offer our condolences and support.”

An inquest was told last year that Ben Vodden hanged himself from his bunk bed with a length of shoelace after the driver of his school bus regularly joined in abuse by bullies.

On the day of his death, Ben had returned home from school on the bus, where he had suffered three months of name-calling, swearing and gesturing since arriving at his new secondary school that September.

The inquest was told that the bus driver, Brian McCullough, who still works at the same company as a driver, was responsible for some of the bullying, allegedly calling him Master Bate, Billy No Mates and Dickhead.

After coming home, he sobbed to his mother: “I’m sorry, mummy.” He was found hanged in his room soon afterwards.

Ben’s mother, Caroline, said: “He felt unable to tell me, as his mother, because of the language used. Ben told his father, ‘Brian the bus driver has been calling me Master Bate because he says I’m a little w*****’, and he said everyone on the bus was calling him Master Bate.”

Mr McCullough, a former security officer, denied calling Ben Master Bate but said that he had called him Dickhead and Billy No Mates in what he dismissed as “friendly banter”.

One parent at the school said after Belinda’s death: “This is terrible news, we can’t believe there has been another tragedy. When Ben died everyone said ‘never again’.”

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• An officer and a gentle woman
• Dame Helen Mirren is worthy of the Epidaurus
• Foods that can help to prevent swine flu