A woman who was tormented as a child over her frizzy ginger hair has revealed how she has been cruelly targeted by cyber bullies 30 years later.
Natalie Harvey, 35, endured years of abuse at the hands of playground bullies, who nicknamed her ‘Little Orphan Annie’ because of her short frizzy ginger locks.
Natalie Harvey, 35, suffers online verbal abuse over Little Orphan Annie red hair jibes. Photo:SWNS
Mrs Harvey, who teaches adults with mental health issues for charity Mencap, was spat on and verbally abused by fellow pupils at her school in Nottingham when she was a youngster.
The horrific bullying only stopped in her late teens after she learnt how to straighten her hair effectively.
She adopted a grueling daily two-hour-long hair routine and spent more than £10,000 to control her tresses, although she often wears a wig to hide her hair.
But last year a hateful online campaign started up on Twitter and Facebook where cruel bullies circulated old photographs of the mother-of-one.
One tweet said: “I can’t wait to pull off your wig and reveal your ginger afro hair to everyone.”
Another read: “Wait until everyone sees your f****d up afro hair!"
Speaking about ordeal, she said: “They were saying such horrible things about my hair. They must have found a picture on a Facebook gallery from three years ago.
“It was so personal and nasty. It targeted directly at something that has affected me throughout my life.”
Mrs Harvey has since notified police, deleted her Twitter account and beefed up her security settings on Facebook to avoid the abuse.
Natalie Harvey, 35, endured years of abuse at the hands of playground bullies, who nicknamed her ‘Little Orphan Annie’ because of her short frizzy ginger locks.
Natalie Harvey, 35, suffers online verbal abuse over Little Orphan Annie red hair jibes. Photo:SWNSThe horrific bullying only stopped in her late teens after she learnt how to straighten her hair effectively.
She adopted a grueling daily two-hour-long hair routine and spent more than £10,000 to control her tresses, although she often wears a wig to hide her hair.
But last year a hateful online campaign started up on Twitter and Facebook where cruel bullies circulated old photographs of the mother-of-one.
One tweet said: “I can’t wait to pull off your wig and reveal your ginger afro hair to everyone.”
Another read: “Wait until everyone sees your f****d up afro hair!"
Speaking about ordeal, she said: “They were saying such horrible things about my hair. They must have found a picture on a Facebook gallery from three years ago.
“It was so personal and nasty. It targeted directly at something that has affected me throughout my life.”
Mrs Harvey has since notified police, deleted her Twitter account and beefed up her security settings on Facebook to avoid the abuse.
She added: “Something has to be done about online security. At least at school I could turn round and see who was insulting me but this is so faceless. The bullies are able to hide behind their keyboards.”
