COMMENT: Talking shows people they don’t have to suffer alone

At the inquest into the 34-year-old's death, his mother, Anita Harper-Stirling, told how the threat of Covid-19 had tipped him over the edge.

Whereas family members previously called to see him every day to check he was okay, now he had to cope with the lack of visitors and not going out. It was too much.

The fear is that this sort of desperately sad story is being repeated across the country as the consequence of mental health issues created by the pandemic.

While we're fed Covid-19 statistics every day, there are none available on how many people have suffered psychologically.

This sense of it being a hidden crisis is why The News and other titles in JPIMedia are running the There For Each Other campaign.

We strongly believe that by talking about mental health, sharing personal stories and highlighting the work of charities and healthcare professionals, people will realise they are not alone.

That's why in today's News we also feature the story of Andriana Petropoulaki, who tried to take her own life 10 years ago after struggling with being away from her family in Cyprus when she came to the UK to study as a teenager.

Now she is a talking therapy officer who uses her own experiences to help support those suffering with mental health issues.

So please don't suffer in silence. There are services out there to help you and people to talk to who understand what you're going through.

And if you think somebody you know may be having a hard time, please reach out and show we are There For Each Other.