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Preston has the highest suicide rate in the UK, shock new figures have revealed.

There were an average of 18.6 suicides a year in the city for every 100,000 population between 2012-14.

That is nearly twice as high as the average for England, which stood at 10.0.

Middlesbrough (17.6 per 100,000), Hastings (17.4 per 100,000), Blackpool (17.0 per 100,000) and Warwick (16.6 per 100,000) had the next highest suicide rates in Britain in 2012-14.

The data, released by the Office for National Statistics , shows the suicide rate in Preston has risen sharply over the past few years.

(Image: Getty)

Between 2011-13 it stood at just 16.7 per 100,000 while in 2010-12 it was 14.6 per 100,000.

Read more:Suicide rate rises 3% in England – but it's falling in other UK countries

In 2011-13, Blaenau Gwent in Wales had the highest suicide rate, at 20.1 per 100,000. That has now fallen to 16.0 per 100,000.

(Image: Alamy)

Nationally, the data shows that middle-aged men are the most likely group to commit suicide.

For males aged 45 to 59, in 2014, there were 23.9 suicides per 100,000 population.

(Image: PA)

By contrast for women aged 45 to 59 that figure stood at just 7.3 per 100,000 - more than three times lower.

Northern Ireland (16.5 suicides per 100,000) had a higher suicide rate in 2014 than Scotland (14.5 per 100,000), England (10.3 per 100,000) and Wales (9.2 per 100,000).

Areas with the highest suicide rates

Area average suicides per year 2012-14, per 100,000 people

(Image: Alamy)

Preston 18.6 Middlesbrough 17.6 Hastings 17.4 Blackpool 17 Warwick 16.6



(Image: Daily Mirror)

Torridge 16.3 Hyndburn 16.3 Redditch 16.2 Copeland 16.1 Blaenau Gwent 16

Areas with lowest suicide rates

Area average suicides per year 2012-14, per 100,000 people

Stevenage 2.9 Watford 5 Harrow 5.1 Greenwich 5.2 Hounslow 5.3



(Image: SWNS)

Broxbourne 5.3 Luton 5.3 Torfaen 5.4 Wokingham 5.4 Derbyshire Dales 5.5

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