The cult Netflix teen drama ‘13 Reasons Why’ really could be driving young people to consider suicide and should be withdrawn until it is made safer, experts have warned.

The series, adapted from a 2007 novel by Jay Asher, tells the story of 17-year-old Hannah Baker, a high school pupil who commits suicide.

In lieu of a suicide note, Baker leaves 13 cassette tapes, each addressed to a different person whom Hannah felt was instrumental in leading her to the point where she killed herself.

It has already been criticised by The Samaritans as 'misleading' while authorities in New Zealand are so concerned they have banned teenagers from watching it alone. Two schoolgirls in Austria are believed to have attempted to kill themselves after watching the series.

Now new research by San Diego State University has found that in the days after the series first aired March this year, Google search queries for ‘how to commit suicide’ rocketed.