The Welsh Assembly Government is to launch a strategy to slash the number of suicides in the country.

Teachers, employment advisers and police will be trained to spot signs of mental health problems as part of the new national strategy to be unveiled by the Welsh Assembly Government today.

Head of mental health development at the Welsh Assembly Government, Phill Chick, said: ‘This is not a Bridgend specific issue. This is something which affects communities across Wales. Certainly it's something which accelerated the work.'

The Mental Health First Aid training programme has been running in some parts of Wales but will now be rolled out across the country. By next March, 75 instructors are expected to be running courses around Wales.

The move comes after figures showed 3/4 of those who commit suicide in Wales are unknown to mental health services in the year before they die.

On average, about 300 people die by suicide each year in Wales, a lower rate than in Scotland, but higher than England.

Some 23 young people from the Bridgend area have apparently taken their own lives since the beginning of 2007.