Last week we reported on the disturbing case of Ben Vodden, the 11-year-old schoolboy found hanged in his bedroom after suffering a campaign of bullying.

Today Miles Godfrey talks to a retired headteacher about what more could be done to prevent a similar tragedy.

Society is catastrophically failing to tackle bullying.

That is the opinion of a growing number of experts who claim more and more people, of all ages, are being subjected to physical and verbal abuse.

The case of Ben Vodden, 11, who died after he was the victim of a bullying campaign by fellow pupils, is the most recent example highlighting why our society must now change.

Ben Vodden was a boy brimming with happiness.

At least he was until the bullies got hold of him and turned his world upside down.

They targeted him when he should have been safe - as he rode to and from school on the bus.

The 11-year-old from Southwater was found by his father hanging from his bunkbed. What is most appalling about all of this is the fact that the bullies ultimately won.

The name calling, the beatings, the smirks behind Ben's back, all succeeded in harming Ben more than anyone really knew at the time.

Tragically, experts believe that unless there is a total and dramatic change in British attitudes towards bullying more deaths like this will occur.

Dr Stuart Newton, a retired headteacher and current part-time teacher at Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College (BHASVIC) believes society must react to the lessons to be learned from Ben Vodden's story.

He has been increasingly critical of the apparent lack of action among those in a position of authority, including the media, to combat bullying.

He said: "My job, for the last 40 years, has involved disentangling the endless hate trails of bullies in schools. I have listened to the endlessly pathetic excuses of the bullies and their parents about why their behaviour is justified.

"Of course, the response of the rest of society is complacency.

They sit on the sidelines, criticise and do nothing of any use.

"Few of us can imagine what went through Ben's mind in those last hours.

"But what we had all better get into our minds is that there are plenty of other young people who have thought seriously in the past year about killing themselves.

"And some of them will have succeeded by this time next year. Why? Because they too are intimidated and humiliated beyond endurance by bullies.

"After 40 years of teaching young people in secondary schools, I have learned a number of things about bullies.

"The bullying Ben endured in Horsham happens in every school in the country. The techniques of some bullies are more refined than others but the aims are the same - to wound, humiliate and scare their victims.

"Most teachers could give you a list of the children in their school who are out-andout bullies, and so could most of the children.

"Most teachers could give you a list of those children who are the henchmen, the ones who do the dirty work of the bully.

"Most teachers know that the vast majority of children would never get involved in bullying but they feel powerless to stop it.

"My frustration is that there is no obvious serious action that anyone is taking to tackle the issue."

West Sussex County Council is among the organisations which has said it is to instigate new measures to tackle bullying.

It is investigating the possibility of having marshalls on school buses to try and prevent abuse.

And police officers are increasingly attaching themselves to schools and maintaining regular visits to stamp out bullying and other problems.

But part of the problem is there are ever increasing means for the bullies to reach their victims.

The internet is being used to post insults about children and in some cases teachers.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "It's crucial that children and young people, who are particularly skilful at adapting to new technology, use their mobiles and the internet safely and positively, and that they are aware of the consequences of misuse. School staff, parents and young people have to be constantly vigilant and work together to prevent this form of bullying and tackle it wherever it appears."

"The advent of cyberbullying adds new dimensions to the problem. Unlike other forms of bullying, cyberbullying can follow children and young people into their private spaces and outside school hours. There is no safe haven for the person being bullied.

"Cyberbullies can communicate their messages to a wide audience with remarkable speed, and can often remain unseen and unidentifiable."

It is not just young people who suffer from bullying.

Instances of verbal and physical abuse in places of work have risen 50 per cent in ten years, according to a study.

The problem is costing the British economy billions of pounds, according to some experts.

Ultimately, it is the root causes of bullying that need to be stamped out before bullying of all types can be stopped, according to Dr Newton.

He claims bullying has become an endemic, as normal a part of daily British life for many people as tying their shoelaces. But he believes we must look beyond the obvious answers.

"Sadly, I expect that, like the rest of our society, when the next child is driven to suicide by bullies, it will be blamed on the teachers."