23 Sep 2016 Karnel Kane Haughton · Prevention of Future Deaths report Birmingham and Solihull
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Concerns raised 5 Serious injuries to children from fainting-inducing activities View source Lack of support and guidance for parents and children concerned about fainting-inducing activities View source Lack of national guidance for schools and youth groups on fainting-inducing activities, risks and warning signs View source Reliance solely on media to raise national awareness of fainting-inducing activities without careful handling View source Openly accessible, uncensored online videos of children and adolescents engaging in fainting-inducing activities without warnings View source See 2 more concerns
No linked response statements No action or position from this recipient is clearly linked to the concerns in this report.
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AI-generated summary
Karnel Kane Haughton · Prevention of Future Deaths report
This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.
Report summary
Karnel Kane Haughton, aged 12, was found unconscious at home with a ligature around his neck and died at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital on 1 June 2016. The report considered that he had likely been engaging in the “choking game”. Concerns included the open availability of uncensored online videos, the lack of national guidance and dedicated support, and the risk that poorly handled awareness-raising could encourage children to try these activities.
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× Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Serious injuries to children from fainting-inducing activities
Wider context from the report “3. Information received by the West Midlands Police indicated that there have been other incidents of children being seriously injured as a result of these sorts of activities across the country .
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Lack of support and guidance for parents and children concerned about fainting-inducing activities
Wider context from the report “5. There is no charity or other institution which provides support and guidance to parents or children specifically on these activities if they have a concern .
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Lack of national guidance for schools and youth groups on fainting-inducing activities, risks and warning signs
Wider context from the report “4. Although local guidance and information for teachers has been issued by Birmingham City Council as a result of Karnel’s death there is no national guidance for schools or youth groups to alert them to these activities, the risks and provide details of warning signs .
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Reliance solely on media to raise national awareness of fainting-inducing activities without careful handling
Wider context from the report “6. Leaving the raising of national awareness on this topic solely to the media is dangerous because there is a real risk that if the subject matter is not handled carefully children will be incited to experiment with these sorts of activities .
” Open source report × Source evidence
How this individual concern was interpreted PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; that does not assign responsibility.
PFD Monitor interpretation Openly accessible, uncensored online videos of children and adolescents engaging in fainting-inducing activities without warnings
Wider context from the report “2. Several witnesses gave evidence that on the internet, on sites such as you tube, there are thousands of videos of children and adolescents engaging in the ‘Choking Game’, the ‘Pass out Challenge’ and other activities whereby the children either on their own or with the assistance of others deliberately induce the sensation of fainting or passing out by various means, these videos are openly accessible, uncensored and contain no warnings .
” Open source report
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations