Young people in England’s coastal towns three times more likely to have a mental health condition

Young people in coastal areas face economic and social challenges, such as renting from private landlords and low incomes. Photograph: Polly Braden/The Guardian

Young people living in the most deprived stretches of England’s coastline are three times more likely to be living with an undiagnosed mental health condition than their peers inland, according to new research.

This “coastal mental health gap” means that young people in these towns, which include areas of Tendring on the east coast and Blackpool and Liverpool to the west, are suffering disproportionately, often alone and with no help, said the researchers who conducted the study.