THE region is to lead the way in new efforts to reduce the number of people who are driven to take their own lives.

In what is billed as the first national charter to tackle suicide in the UK, more than 100 business people and public sector executives will pledge their support on Friday.

The initiative, which aims to raise awareness of this growing problem and offer more help to potential suicides, is a response to high levels of suicide on Teesside.

Dr Amanda Gash, a consultant psychiatrist at Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust, said: "The majority of suicides on Teesside are men, and unlike the declining rates of suicide among women, rates among local men are actually rising."

The psychiatrist said a combination of high deprivation levels and a "macho culture", which discouraged men from talking about their problems or going to the doctor, was driving the figures up.

Friday's event at the Riverside Football Stadium, in Middlesbrough, will involve video footage of interviews with survivors of suicide and their relatives.

The charter launch will pave the way for a multi-agency strategy to tackle the social and economic issues which fuel suicide rates.

About 60 people commit suicide on Teesside every year, which has one of the highest rates in the UK.

But Dr Gash said the North-East in general has higher than average suicide rates.

"This is very much a problem throughout our region," she said.