Fortnite addiction left dad-of-two hooked on cocaine and on verge of losing his family, job and home
Father-of-two Lee, 23, ignored the warning signs of his addiction as his life fell apart
A FORTNITE fan nearly lost his job, family and home after becoming so addicted to the game that he snorted cocaine to stay wired as he played through the night.
Dad-of-two Lee Harmer told of his shame after wife Sarah walked out with their kids and bosses gave him repeated warnings at work.
The 23-year-old said he muddled through his day and would even rush home during his lunch break to squeeze in an extra game.
At one of his lowest points, Lee admitted he hadn't been bothered by his family packing up and leaving him.
The dad only made a change to his gaming-obsessed lifestyle when his six-year-old daughter got hooked too.
Lee, an assistant retail manager from Blackpool, said: “Not until I saw my own child obsessed with playing and watching others play did I realised I had to do something about my addiction.
“It made me an absent parent and set a dangerous example to a child far more vulnerable than I was.
“I have to say Fortnite was completely addictive. I’d lose track of time in a way I never had before.
“I’d go to bed at 11pm, then creep down and play for two or three more hours. To wake me up, I started having a line of cocaine.
"I’d climb back into bed at 5am, wired, then pretend to sleep before crawling through the next day."
“It’s amazing I didn’t get sacked at work. I was almost unable to function," he told the .
“Finally Sarah said she’d had enough and took the kids to her mum’s – leaving me to hammer at the game, playing ten or more hours a night.”
Lee now receives private counselling for his addiction and Fortnite is banned from the family home.
Fortnite has millions hooked on its Battle Royal game mode, which sees online players compete in all-against-all survival matches with scavenged weapons and resources.
The game is a huge hit, making a staggering £200million from in-app purchases in April.
most read in news
Owner Epic Games is on course to make £1.2billion in its first year of release.
But as the game's popularity has grown, so too have health concerns and parents' fears that children are being groomed on the game.
Kids addicted to video games like Fortnite could have the condition recognised as an official mental disorder from tomorrow.
Although it's not currently available, NHS treatment may soon be given to sufferers after the World Health Organisation added gaming addition to its International Classification of Diseases.
Addiction therapist Steve Pope told the newspaper yesterday: “This is a billion-pound industry but the cost to families wrapped up in gaming addiction is gravely high.
“We are coming close to a national crisis. As parents, it is our job not only to protect our children but to set an example. But if a parent is in the grip of an addiction it becomes almost impossible to shield their children and it becomes very destructive.
“This game is designed to encourage obsessive behaviour, which is something that can tear a family unit apart.
“Some people who can play these games without becoming addicted if they place strict time limits on playing time and frequency. But the nature of the game can make this difficult.”