Number of children with suicidal feelings 'increases 117%' in three years

The number of children admitting suicidal thoughts has risen by 117% since 2010, ChildLine has revealed. Credit: PA

The number of children admitting suicidal thoughts has risen by 117% since 2010, ChildLine has revealed.

The children's charity said they had held 34,517 counselling sessions over the last year with youngsters who had talked about suicide - 117% more than in the year 2010/11.

Nearly 6,000 children confided that they had tried to commit suicide in a counsellor - a 43% increase on the year before.

Most of these children had not told anyone else they had considered taking their own life, ChildLine found.

Youngsters in their early teens were the most likely to contact ChildLine about suicide. Credit: PA

The worrying trend was revealed in the NSPCC report "On the Edge", which had been developed from ChildLine research.

The report said young teenagers between the ages of 12 and 15 were the most likely to contact ChildLine about suicide.

Self-harm was also mentioned in 36% of the counselling sessions about suicide - a rise of 192% since the beginning of the decade.

Children face an uphill battle as cyber-bullying means they can be attacked at any time. Credit: PA

Online bullying was found to be a frequent issue, with the report stating that young people feeling suicidal often described incidences where they had been bullied through social networking sites.

Some young people also told ChildLine their suicidal feelings had been triggered by harmful content they had seen on websites.

The children's charities want to see schools and parents adopt a series of recommendations which they say will help youngsters cope.

The NSPCC and ChildLine both want the Ministry of Justice to change the law. Credit: PA

Among them are plans to give children greater involvement in designing and improving local Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

ChildLine also wants to see the Ministry of Justice review the "beyond all reasonable doubt" burden of proof required for a suicide verdict in England and Wales - which is currently the same needed for crimes such as murder.

The charity believes this will provide a more accurate account of how many people take their own lives every year.

ChildLine Founder Esther Rantzen said the charity is receiving "more calls than ever before" from desperately unhappy children.

Children can contact ChildLine anonymously on 0800 1111 or online at www.childline.org.uk

Adults worried about a child can contact the NSPCC’s helpline 0808 800 5000 for advice and support.