The suicide rate in the North East is twice that of London - with our region the worst-affected part of England and Wales.
This comes after North East charity boss Matthew Smith completed a 300-mile run from County Durham to Downing Street in order to deliver a letter demanding that Levelling Up includes suicide prevention. Figures released earlier in September show that, for suicides registered in 2021, the age-standardised mortality rate in our area is 14.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
That's an increase on 2020 (when the North East rate was 13.3. By comparison, the England and Wales average rate was 10.7 while the region least impacted - London - has a rate of more than half that of the North East at just 6.6.
