SUICIDE rates in Dorset have risen dramatically with the number of hangings up by more than a half in just a year.

So far this year coroner Sheriff Payne has dealt with 32 hangings and 19 other suicides.

The figures compare with 19 and 22 respectively for the whole of last year and 19 and 11 in 2012.

The Dorset Coroner revealed that mental health issues have played a part in the majority of cases with more than half of those who have died accessing treatment for psychiatric problems before their deaths.

Mr Payne told the Daily Echo: “There are a lot of people who have got depression and are in the depths of despair but this seems to be a particularly high number of hangings and other suicides.

“I don’t think mental health services are any less helpful than they have been in the past so it is hard to find a reason for the increase.”

Mr Payne said the deaths include a wide age range and said he cannot identify a pattern.

He said some of those who have died had personal and relationship problems while others had health difficulties. He said the reason for some of the tragedies will never be known.

“There is a multitude of things which can lead to a suicide. Some people leave notes to explain their reasons, some have just given up on life.”

Mr Payne said many psychiatric services have moved from the hospital into the community in recent years with many patients living in their own homes and receiving daily visits and treatment.

County ‘must spend more money’

DORSET desperately needs more cash to support increasing numbers of people affected by mental health issues, according to MP Annette Brooke, pictured.

She fears sufferers are not getting the attention they deserve and is urging the government to provide more money.

“I am very concerned about this” she told the Daily Echo. “It is well known that mental health services have been the Cinderella of the NHS for too long.

“There are a lot of pressures on people in today’s society and more awareness that children need help with mental health problems.”

The Lib-Dem MP for mid-Dorset and north Poole said requirements or targets set for other departments within the NHS do not apply to mental health services.

She added: “If there were such requirements, it would show up the funding inadequacies very quickly.