VILLAGERS in East Leake are worried about an alarming spike in the number of young people committing suicide in the area.
Self-harm support group Harmless said there had been seven suicides in the past 13 months which were either in East Leake or "related to the village", in that the people who had died knew people from the village.
Jamie Johnson was the latest teenager to take his own life while on holiday with his family in Turkey on October 18 last year.
He was only 19 and had struggled to come to terms with the suicide of a friend who killed himself last January.
Jamie's mother Penny Johnson, 39, who runs the village's Nag's Head pub, in Main Street, has started a new support group for young people in East Leake called the Tomorrow Project.
She said: "People are worried about the alarming rise of suicides in the village. We are 1,200 per cent above the national average for suicides in East Leake.
"I don't want anyone to have to go through what I have. That's why I'm doing this."
"The Tomorrow Project was started up by myself in conjunction with Harmless to try and offer support to young people who may be feeling distressed or depressed."
The launch of the new support group will take place today from 7pm. It is running a helpline on 07594 008356.