'By the time I got through it was too late': US chatroom host tells of 'futile' attempts to get another user to call 999 as they watched plasterer, 39, hang himself live on webcam on Christmas Day

 A man hanged himself on Christmas Day on a live online video chatroom where people go to 'insult each other'.

Gregory Tomkins died in the early hours of the morning as helpless users in the Apple Inc Insults chatroom watched.

The chatroom, one of dozens available on the video group chat service Paltalk - which has around six million worldwide users - encourages users to insult each other as much as they possible can.

In the early hours of Christmas Day, Mr Tomkins, a self-employed plasterer in his 30s from Wallington in Sutton, south London, logged onto the chatroom and hanged himself.

Other users, some in other countries, spoke of their shock at not being able to call 999 and how they desperately tried to get UK users to alert the police.

Mr Tomkins was eventually found dead by police officers just after 3.30am on Christmas Day.

The self-employed plasterer, 39, was found dead when police broke into his home in Wallington, south London, following a call from another concerned chatroom user at 3.36am on December 25.

Apple Inc Insults, is one of the several rooms on video chat service PalTalk where users send abuse to each other.

A user of the chat group, who does not wish to be named, saw Mr Tomkins, known online as Yakka, sit at his computer screen without talking then go into another room and appeared to hang himself.

The whole incident took just 30 seconds.

He said: "He had come into the room on his regular screen name that he uses and then for some reason he went and changed his screenname.

"When he actually comes in the room he is always on the microphone and he talks.

"But this time he didn't talk and he was just sitting there.

"After he left the room he cammed up, and that was when he did what he did.

"It took him literally 30 seconds to go from sitting down to hanging."

The admin for the "insults" group known as Throat punch said he felt powerless to help as he could not contact the emergency services from America and was frustrated others in Britain would not raise the alarm.

He wrote: "As an admin in the room at the time this tragedy took place, the frustration of not being able to contact police because dialling 101 or 999 from a country outside the UK became immediately apparent.

"By the time it took me to get a room member from the UK to contact 999, it was way too late.

"Sitting by watching people like a chatter who was present and witnessed it ignore requests to call police was truly futile."

Earlier this month Mr Tomkins changed his profile picture on his G Tomkins Plastering Facebook page to include a "Merry Christmas" banner.

Mr Tomkins also posted on Facebook a reference to Keddles, a mixed martial arts gym in Orpington, Kent.

He wrote on December 16 after posting a picture of a pair of black boxing gloves and a jump rope: "Mark my words...Weakling = Fakeling. Come Keddles and I'll smash your head in."

Then two days before he death he wrote at 2.32am "JUST DO IT."

Users reacted on the chatroom message board and said Mr Tomkins would be sadly missed.

BrAss KnUckLES H2k said: "Yakka was ok. He was a good soul."

Alinity also: "Yakka was a funny guy he will be sadly missed."

PLASMA- added: "I'm still so shocked, nevr [sic] thought yakka would do that."

Another commenter said the chatroom should be investigated as it targets vulnerable people.

She said; "I believe this room in question was no good for Gregg's mental health it certainly wasn't the right place for him he is not the only chatter that has suffered in this room there is a few has I would like the police to investigate this and also to prevent this from ever happening again."

One user said Gregory was "very lonely" and would often do silly acts online.

He said: "Gregory Tomkins was a funny man, he did a lot of funny stuff in the chat room but he also got upset a lot and would do silly things on his cam as well.

"I just think he was very lonely as he had a difficult past which he spoke about a lot.

"But he always meant well, you just were never sure what mood he was in when he entered the chat room.

"I do not think an insult chat room like this was the place for him.

"This is not the first time that someone has died in this UK chat room.

"A lot of the people who were in this UK chat room when Gregory Tomkins died were also in this chat room when Kevin Whitrick died.

"He also hanged himself live on cam in the chat room after he was egged on by other chatters."

Kevin Whitrick, 42, of Telford, Shropshire, killed himself in 2007 using Paltalk and was even encourage to take his life, an inquest heard.

A Met Police said Mr Tomkins death was not be treated as suspicious and his elderly parents have been informed of the incident.

The spokesman said: "Police were called at 3.36am on Monday, December 25, to an address in Clarendon Road, Wallington, after concerns were raised for the welfare of an occupant.

"Officers attended. A man, believed to be in his 30s, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

"Next of kin are aware. The death is not being treated as suspicious.

"A file will be prepared for the coroner."