TERRY thought drinking would make him feel better, but it made things ten times worse. Under pressure at work and with an unhappy marriage, Terry began to think about a way out.

"I was stressed up, everything was black, I just wanted to die." Things came to a head when he lost his job and his marriage broke up.

Terry managed to accumulate 100 paracetamol tablets and, when it was quiet in the house, he decided to do it.

"I had half a bottle of whisky and paracetamol. I felt absolutely horrible: I was worthless, I just didn't want to live."

Terry's suicide bid was unsuccessful and he woke up three days later in a Teesside hospital with liver damage. Specialists thought he was going to die but he pulled through.

Terry is just one of the 60 or so people on Teesside who take their own lives every year, and among 5,000 in the UK. Experts are concerned that the rate of suicides on Teesside is among the highest in the country and, while the national figures are levelling off, the local figures show no sign of reducing.

Terry and other volunteers stepped into a video recording booth to give the launch of the first Teeswide Suicide Prevention Charter a very poignant edge.

One after another, the real-life victims of what has been described as an epidemic of self-destruction told their stories to a an absorbed audience at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

In the audience were more than 100 representatives of public and private sector organisations which have pledged to support new efforts to prevent suicides.

Louise was also very stressed because of her job, but she had the added complications of a young baby and a little boy with special needs.

"I was off work, on the sick, because of stress and depression. I had been struggling to cope for several months before that," she says.

Difficulties in finding suitable treatment for her son added to her troubles and she became locked into a downward spiral.

"I was still trying to be superwoman and have it all. Something had to give. I began to feel really hopeless, worrying about my son's future and worrying about my responsibilities as a carer. I felt a failure, I set myself high standards but I wasn't copying."

Louise describes on the video how she developed an overwhelming urge to end her life.

In one of the most harrowing video testimonies, Louise, outlined in silhouette on the big screen, continues: "I felt in such emotional pain. I felt like I was screaming inside, like my head was going to explode. I needed to stop it and I couldn't see how I could stop it. I couldn't see a way out."

She got the chance to carry out her plan when her partner went out shopping.

Louise remembers that it was a long bank holiday and she was feeling particularly stressful at the prospect of having to entertain relatives over the weekend.

"When my partner went out I took antidepressants and sleeping tablets... I didn't leave a note but I had mentioned suicidal feelings before... people thought I was being flippant."

She recalls that people around her discounted the idea of suicide because she had a young family.

"In my mind the children were part of the problem. That they would be better off without me," she says.

Louise's life was saved by pure accident when her partner came home unexpectedly early with one of the children.

But despite this reprieve Louise is already thinking about the next time. When she woke up in hospital she says she didn't feet relieved. "I just thought, next time I will do it properly."

Dr Peter Heywood, a lecturer in health studies at Newcastle University, has already published research on 117 suicides in the Teesside area between 1997 and 1998.

From the statistics we already know the profile of the typical suicide victim on Teesside. "They are predominantly young men living in socio-economic deprivation, social isolation and suffering from relationship breakdown," says Dr Heywood.

The figures also tell us that around half have been in trouble with the police and one in five are multiple offenders. But, surprisingly, despite two thirds of suicides on Teesside having a psychiatric diagnosis of either schizophrenia or depression, only 28 per cent had been in contact with mental health services before their death.

"However, this is not just an issue for mental health services, all agencies and services can be involved and we would encourage that, " says Dr Heywood.

People who take their own lives on Teesside are three times more likely to come from deprived areas than affluent areas, according to Dr Heywood. Men aged between 25 and 34 in his study were the most at risk. Between 40 and 50 per cent of those who die by their own hand are also unemployed.

However, women, particularly young women, are not immune from suicide.

Suzy, a student who scored top grades at university, began to become more and more socially isolated as she found it difficult to make new friends. "I felt things were unbearable, it's not working, I was desperate to find help," she says.

Suzy began to stay in her room and not come out from one week to the next. On her regular taxi journeys from her hall of residence to lectures, she even wanted to tell the driver all her troubles.

"I remember being in absolute emotional agony, hoping there was somebody I could tell but I wasn't aware of what to do. I was too scared to tell anyone," she says.

Despite taking more than 50 paracetamols washed down with alcohol, Suzy, survived to tell her story.

But many who attempt to take their life are successful, leaving a damaging legacy for family and friends.

Kate came home from a school reunion to dreadful news. She says: "We had had a fantastic night, I was really happy. At 3am I got to my mum's house. I thought it was odd that all the lights were on. She said, 'I am going to bring you back to earth now.' She said, 'Your brother has committed suicide'."

Apart from causing intense grief and distress, the death of her brother provoked feelings of guilt and concern that a precedent may have been established for the next generation.

"You start thinking that you didn't do enough. You should have recognised that it was gong to happen," says Kate.

Although her brother had left an audio tape telling everybody that it was not their fault, Kate can't help feeling guilty. She has other concerns too. "For his children and possibly for my children - who thought the world of him - it has made suicide an option."

Dr Amanda Gash, a consultant psychiatrist at Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust, urges organisations to sign up to the charter and to be more aware of friends, family or colleagues who may be close to the brink.

"We need to recognise danger signs such as stress, irritability, being withdrawn and absenteeism. Ask people how they are and listen to what they say, it is a wonderful olive branch," she says.

* A Confidential Emotional Support telephone helpline, 0800 052 7350, is open from 6pm to 6am. Alternatively ring NHS Direct 0845 4647.

* The names of volunteers in this article have been changed.