YouTube sensation Jeffy inspired seven-year-old boy to put noose around his neck

A British mother who found her seven-year-old son with a makeshift noose around his neck says he got the idea from a popular YouTube show.

The youngster, from Teesside, wrapped Christmas decorations around his neck, claiming he was inspired by the antics of the comedy puppet Jeffy, the Teesside Gazette reports.

He was discovered after his younger brother came downstairs to warn his mother of the dangerous stunt.

The mother, who did not want to be named, said: "I asked him why he did it and he said he had got it from Jeffy. I've banned him from watching it and I've even hidden all the TV leads.

"Apparently Jeffy is the latest craze and all the kids at my son's school love it but they are full of swearing. I think the videos are disgusting and they should be banned."

The channel SuperMarioLogan depicts the antics of a foul-mouthed and ill-behaved youngster, Jeffy, who torments his father.

Created by Logan Thirtyacre, 23, from Florida, the series' short episodes are a huge hit on YouTube and get millions of views.

One particular episode, called Jeffy's Tantrum, shows Jeffy become furious when his father refuses to buy him an iPad game on the iTunes App Store.

He threatens to hold his breath "until I die" unless his father purchases the app, before then vowing to run away.

After hurling a television from a balcony, Jeffy is shown weeks later dressed in black and depressed, saying, "I don't want to live anymore". Holding a knife, he threatens to cut himself.

Jeffy tries to further emotionally blackmail his father by tying a rope to a banister and hooking a noose around his neck.

He tells another puppet: "Okay this is it, I'm going to kill myself ... because my daddy wouldn't buy me a $2.99 game from the app store."

The video, which now carries an adult content warning, has been viewed more than 12 million times.

Thirtyacre told The Sun he is "truly sorry if my video inspired anyone to do anything similar", adding: "They are not to be imitated and are for entertainment purposes only."

This isn't the first time the show has caused controversy.

Earlier this year Whale Hill Primary School in Middlesbrough warned parents not to allow their children to watch Jeffy videos after they had become popular among pupils.

The school wrote in a Facebook post in July: "It has recently come to our attention that some children are watching a show on YouTube called Jeffy.

"Whilst we are aware that YouTube has got many educational videos, the content of the Jeffy videos are inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18."

The boy's mother reiterated the warning, adding: "I would just tell everyone to be extra careful. [My son] still has a few marks around his neck but thankfully there isn't anything to worry about."

A spokesperson for YouTube said: "Earlier this year, we updated our policies to make content featuring inappropriate use of family entertainment characters ineligible for monetisation.

"We rolled out a new policy that age restricts this content in the YouTube main app when flagged.

"Age-restricted content is automatically not allowed in YouTube Kids. The YouTube team is made up of parents who are committed to improving our apps and getting this right."