The south west of England had the highest rate of suicide of any region in England last year, according to figures released by the government.

It marks the first time since 2010 that the region has had the highest suicide rate in the country, and it is the highest rate in the south west for three years.

Over the course of 2016, 12.2 people in every 100,000 took their own lives, though the rate increased to 18.8 in 100,000 males. Across England, suicide was listed as the cause of death for 9.5 per 100,000 population, compared to 10.1 across Britain as a whole.

The lowest regional rate was in London, with 8.5 per 100,000.

Darren Tee, director of the Swindon and District Samaritans, said: “It is a hard statistic to hear, that people in the south west are more likely to take their lives. It is sad that people get to the point where they choose that as the only thing that they can do.

“We hope that before people get to that point, or when they’re at that point, they can contact us, and have someone at the end of the line who can be there for them.

“We, as Samaritans, are there and our vision is that fewer people die by suicide. The harsh reality is that it’s not always going to be the case, but we will always be there for them no matter what.”

Within Swindon, 20 deaths were listed as suicides in 2016, a jump from 12 the year before, and the same as in 2014. This figure belies longer term trends showing that suicide has declined on average over the last three-year period, from 10.4 deaths per 100,000 during 2011-2013 to 9.0 in 2014-2016.

During the most recent period, the suicide rate in Swindon was 11 per cent lower than the average for England. The town’s rate was similar to that in the rest of Wiltshire, at 8.9 per 100,000.

Swindon also saw a lower rate of suicides over the last three years than in other local towns and cities. In Bristol, the rate was 14.8 per 100,000 population, in Reading the rate was 13.7 and in Oxford 11.8.

Of the declining rates in the town, Darren said: “Hopefully some of the stigmas around it are being removed, and people start to open up about stuff more, and talk more. By bottling it up, that’s where problems can occur.

“That’s all we can ask really, that people start to talk about it more and don’t hide it away.”

If you need to talk, you can contact the Samaritans for free, at any time, on 116 123.