A vicar today unleashed a stinging attack on "terrorist" cyberbullies who drove a 13-year-old boy to hang himself because of his love of Emo fashion and music.

Canon John Evans, conducting the funeral of Sam Leeson, said online tormentors who hounded him because of his dark clothes and alternative music taste murdered him as surely "as if someone had killed him with a gun".

He called on companies operating social networking sites to take action against the "cowardly" minority of bullies "hiding in the dark", to prevent such tragedies from happening in future. Those making millions from such sites had a responsibility to tackle online abusers, who he said were "just as bad as those who throw bombs."

Sam was found hanged in his bedroom on June 5, following months of online abuse which his family only uncovered after his death. He had been taunted on his Bebo page about his devotion to the goth-influenced movement, followers of which often have long dark hair and make-up and wear black clothes.

Addressing more than 200 mourners at Gloucester Crematorium, Canon Evans, 70, said: "The terrorists who persuaded Sam that life was not worth living - and who used what is a good thing where friends can talk, to abuse and take away his dignity - are just as bad as those who throw bombs.

"He was killed just as much as if someone had killed him with a gun. Those evil people who fed on Sam's doubts, anxieties and worries, and who probably even today are sending foul messages across what is a tool for good, are no better than those who hide in the dark. They are cowards.

"He didn't deserve to be abused because he chose a particular way to dress, a particular sort of music and particular friends. There's nothing wrong in that. It's part of growing up, but for Sam there can be no growing up because of those who made his life hell."

He added: "Sam had many qualities that were wantonly destroyed. We have all been touched by this tragic accident that was not exactly an accident."

After the service, Canon Evans said: "Those who provide these services on the internet make millions from it, and they ought to take some responsibility for policing their sites to make sure this cannot happen again.

"This is an new, insidious kind of bullying, where the tormentors don't have the courage to face those they are attacking."

During the service, Sam's mother Sally Cope said her son, from Tredworth, Gloucester, loved "proper guitar rock music with meaningful lyrics", and that culture was a big part of their family life.

Mrs Cope, who found her dead son along with her 12-year-old daughter, recalled his "alternative fashion sense, squeezing into skinny jeans and growing his hair".

Sam's favourite tracks by the Goo Goo Dolls and the Foo Fighters punctuated the ceremony, often drowned out by the tears of his classmates.

Donations are being given to Kidscape - a charity which fights bullying and child abuse.

Peter Rowland, head of Severn Vale School in Quedgeley said after the funeral that he and his staff were "bemused and searching for answers" as Sam had never complained of bullying.

Friends have used YouTube video tributes to condemn those said to have hounded Sam, and set up a Bebo tribute page in his honour.

Sam leaves behind his parents Ms Cope and Christopher Leeson, as well as six siblings, Emma, Victoria, Thomas, Katie, Rio and Milly.

Last month the suicide of 13-year-old Hannah Bond, from Kent, was widely linked with her being a follower of Emo, which has drawn criticism for glamourising pain and death. Fans of the movement - which means "emotionally hardcore" - later protested outside the offices of the Daily Mail over reports that it encouraged suicide.

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