Seventh suspected suicide at Bristol University in less than 18 months

A law student is believed to have taken his own life in the seventh suspected suicide at Bristol University since October 2016.

Justin Cheng, a third-year student from Canada, was found dead on the evening of 12 January, The Guardian reports.

Cheng’s sister Tiffany wrote on Facebook that her brother suffered “from severe depression which eventually led to his passing”. Police reportedly told university officials that they believe he took his own life.

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Reports of mental illness, mental distress and low well-being involving British students in higher education are soaring, according to a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank. In 2015-16, 15,395 first-year students in higher education in the UK disclosed a mental health condition – almost five times the number who did so in 2006-07, the IPPR study found. Students can be at added risk due to a combination of factors linked to academic, financial and social pressures, the study said.

A separate study by Manchester University involving 922 suicides by people aged under 25 in England and Wales during 2014 and 2015 found that the number of suicides at each age rose steadily in the late teens and early 20s. The majority of those who took their own life were male (76%), the study says.

"Academic pressures and bullying were more common before suicide in under-20s, while workplace, housing and financial problems occurred more often in 20- to 24-year olds," the reports says.

If someone you are worried about expresses suicidal feelings, you or they should contact a GP or NHS 111. You can also call the Samaritans free on 116 123 for confidential, 24-hour support, or call Mind, the mental health charity, on 0300 123 3393.