CHILDREN with suicidal tendencies are increasingly turning to the Internet for information about taking their lives.

The claim was made at an event in Middlesbrough to launch the first national charter to tackle suicide.

About 60 people a year take their own lives on Teesside, with men significantly outnumbering women, and many are in their 20s and 30s.

The idea of the event was to encourage people and organisations to be more aware of the danger signs exhibited by potential suicides and to take preventative action.

About 100 people at the event, drawn from the private and public sector, listened to video testimonies from five volunteers who had either attempted suicide or had lost close family members.

During a discussion of issues raised at the Teesside event, an unidentified speaker in the audience said children with suicidal tendencies were not only choosing increasingly violent ways to take their lives but using the Internet to find out more about different methods.

Dr Amanda Gash, a consultant psychiatrist at Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust, described some Internet websites dealing with suicide as horrifying and expressed surprise that they were legal.

Dr Peter Heywood, a lecturer in health studies at Newcastle University, presented findings from a research project based on suicides on Teesside between 1997 and 1998.

He said there was a strong link between suicide and deprivation. Many victims lived alone and were unemployed.

He said it was surprising that 45 per cent of the suicides he had studied had no previous contact with mental health services, even though two thirds of those who died were diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder such as depression or schizophrenia.

He said: "Nationally, we can say there is a slow overall trend downwards, if anything the numbers are increasing on Teesside, particularly among young men."

Apart from signing up to a declaration which will be displayed in offices and workplaces across Teesside, Dr Gash pleaded with everyone to watch for signs that friends, family or work colleagues might be anxious or distressed about something and ask if they need help.

l The Confidential Emotional Support helpline is open from 6pm to 6am. It can be contacted on 0800 052 7350.