Huge jump in numbers contacting Console's suicide helpline

There was a 49% increase in the number of people texting the suicide helpline run by Console in the first half of the year.

The charity says young men are mostly using their mobile phones to contact them. 62% of all texts come from males.

Console is describing this figure as a "breakthrough" in suicide prevention, because men are four times more likely to take their own lives.

More than 3,900 people texted the service between January and June, compared to more than 2,600 during the same period last year.