Dylan Phelan, 21, of Leeds, sentenced to more than six years for encouraging the suicide of 21-year-old Travis Dyer

A Yorkshire man has been sentenced to more than six years in jail after admitting encouraging a US citizen to kill themselves while on a video call.

Dylan Phelan, 21, was sentenced on Friday at Leeds crown court after previously pleading guilty to intentionally doing an act that was capable of encouraging the suicide of another person.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Varley presented himself in court as a doting dad but prosecution said he used adopted boy as a sexual ‘plaything’

‘They were an ordinary couple,” said one neighbour. Their baby “was happy, he was smiley, he was beautiful”, said a friend. There were no big concerns about the teacher and the sales manager who were doing what thousands do every year – adopting a child.

In reality, Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, were child abusers and Varley murdered the baby boy they adopted, Preston Davey, when he was 13 months old.