THE North-East has one of the highest levels in the country of children who consider suicide, according to new figures.

ChildLine revealed that 701 suicidal children called the charity during the period from April 1998 to March 1999.

The charity's base in Leeds received 54 calls from children from Yorkshire and the North-East who were contemplating suicide or who had attempted suicide.

It was an increase of 16 from the previous year.

The figure is the third highest in the country, behind the Midlands, which received 58 calls, and London and the South-East, which received 66.

A spokesman for ChildLine said: "Fifty four may not sound like many, but when you consider how high the population is in London compared with the North-East, it puts a different light on things."

He said: "The figures for Yorkshire and the North-East reflect the upward trend across the country.

"We can only speculate as to why more children may be calling about suicide.

"It may be due to an increased awareness of our service, but the background figures show that more young people are attempting suicide nationwide."

While some suicidal children are helped by ChildLine, data published by the National Office of Statistics shows that 19,000 youngsters commit suicide every year.

ChildLine's latest report states that half of all suicidal children come from one-parent families and that the poorest children are three times more likely to try to kill themselves.

A third of children who attempted suicide had been drinking or taking drugs and bullying emerged as the biggest cause of attempts. Of the 701 children who called ChildLine, about a third had already attempted to kill themselves or tried to do so during the call, most commonly by overdosing or slashing their wrists.

ChildLine counsellors do everything they can to prevent the caller taking his or her own life.

They attempt to find out where the young person is and a supervisor will call an ambulance while the counsellor stays on the line.

ChildLine chairman Esther Rantzen said: "Young death is always painful, but young suicide is the most painful of all because it is preventable.

"Talking about problems can bring hope or at least dissipate the intensity of desperation."

l ChildLine can be contacted on 0800 1111