An alarmingly high number of children and young people are going to hospital after deliberately hurting themselves.

In 2016-17 young people between the ages of 10-24 were admitted to hospital after self-harming at a rate of 694 per 100,000.

That is 71 per cent higher than the average rate for England of 404.6 per 100,000. The figures are included in Swindon Borough Council’s health and wellbeing board strategy update report discussed this week.

Swindon’s performance in a number of areas is compared to 14 other similar councils including South Gloucestershire and Milton Keynes.

It shows Swindon’s figures on young people self-harming to be the worst of all of them, with only Warrington also seeing a rate of self-harm admissions above 500 per 100,000.

Coun Jim Grant asked: “Do we have any idea why these figures are so high? It doesn’t seem to fit with the demographic make-up of Swindon, where there are a lot of people in work.

Cherry Jones, head of public health, said: “One reason is that we are very good at reporting cases of self-harm.”

It was pointed out the figures were in relation to hospital admissions, and London’s rate was unusually low, depressing the England average. Once London was removed, Swindon was closer to the average. And figures are decreasing.

A council spokesman said: “Although the figures for admissions for self-harm are high, they are in fact coming down from a peak in 2014-15.

“This is due to the fact that there is now a psychiatric liaison nurse for children and young people based at the Great Western Hospital, who will see all children and young people attending A&E for self-harm. We also have mechanisms in place to allow school nurses to be informed if a young person attends A&E. They can then offer tailored support to help the individual.

“The Swindon and Gloucester Mind Self Harmony initiative can also offer support to those over the age of 16 and the special educational needs coordinators have recently had training in mental health, including self-harm.”

A spokesman said: “People self-harm and self-injure for a number of reasons and do so to cope with deep distress which cannot be articulated verbally. It might be a result of something they have done or had done to them or because of issues they cannot cope with, there is no rule of thumb.”

GPs and mental health organisations can refer someone to Mind for counselling. People can also can refer themselves via sgmind.org.uk/self-harmony