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A Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate said he caught HIV deliberately after years of homophobic bullying left him feeling suicidal.

Adrian Hyyrylainen-Trett, 36, experienced both physical and mental bullying at school for being gay.

The Lib Dem's parliamentary candidate standing in this year's election for Vauxhall in south London, said he decided to speak out about his experience of bullying, mental ill health and low self-esteem in the hope of helping others who are facing similar problems.

He told BuzzFeed that the bullying caused him to spiral into a cycle of drugs, depression and suicide attempts, before finally deciding that being infected with HIV might be "one way" to die.

Mr Hyyrylainen-Trett, who is originally from Norwich and is thought to be the first parliamentary candidate to openly speak about being HIV positive, told the website: "I thought, 'What's another way of doing it?'

"Even though I knew people were surviving from HIV, I thought, 'Perhaps if I can make myself so ill, get the worst strain possible, that would be one way of getting rid of myself'."

But he added: "I didn't really want HIV ... I wanted annihilation of me."

The LGBT activist said he feels he owes it to people in similar situations to speak about the issues.

He has called for drugs to become "a health issue not a criminal one", and said the mental health and wellbeing of gay people must be addressed.

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Mr Hyyrylainen-Trett, who married his partner last weekend, also said same-sex education should be compulsory in all schools from a young age.

His revelation comes as the General Election campaign has been hotting up ahead of the May vote.

A rattled David Cameron broke with convention by becoming the first PM in 10 elections to attack rivals from the steps of Downing Street after officially calling an election.

Speaking after visiting the Queen to “request” the dissolution of Parliament – seen as a PR stunt as new laws mean the trip is no longer necessary – he said voters faced a “stark choice” between him and the Labour leader on May 7.

Mr Miliband is widely considered to have come out on top after both were grilled on TV by Jeremy Paxman last week.

Dr Rosemary Gillespie, Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust said: “Adrian has made a really brave decision in speaking so openly about his HIV status.

"More than 100,000 people live with HIV in the UK. They come from all walks of life. However, we know that many people may not feel able to speak openly about their experiences, for fear of judgement and discrimination.

"Anyone in the public eye who speaks out will help raise awareness and is in a position to challenge the stigma and misconceptions around HIV."