A drama about a teenage girl who commits suicide has been pulled from BBC3's schedule following the spate of deaths in Bridgend, south Wales.

Dis/Connected, which tells the story of a group of young people thrown together after the suicide of a mutual friend, was due to air on the digital youth channel on Monday night at 9pm.

However, this week's discovery of the body of the 17th young person to have committed suicide in the Bridgend area since the beginning of last year has prompted BBC executives to postpone the drama.

The media has already faced criticism from local police, the parents of some of the deceased and academics over its coverage of the apparent spate of suicides in the Bridgend area.

A BBC spokesman said: "Dis/Connected is a drama aimed at a young audience which deals with the emotional build up to the suicide of a teenage girl and the effects which this has on her friends.

"While the drama deals with the issue with sensitivity, after careful consideration we have decided, given the recent tragic events in Bridgend, to postpone the transmission of Dis/Connected until a later date. "

The spokesman said no new date had yet been confirmed for the drama's BBC3 transmission.

Dis/Connected, which has been made by Elisabeth Murdoch's independent production company, Shine, is one of six new dramas commissioned by the BBC3 controller, Danny Cohen. Others include Phoo Action and Being Human, which have already been broadcast.

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