SUICIDE squad is to be set up to reduce the number of people taking their own lives.

Teesside has one of the highest suicide rates in the country and, according to research due to be published today, young, single, unemployed men are most at risk.

The research team - from the Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust liaison psychiatry team and Newcastle University - studied records relating to 117 suicides which occurred on Teesside during 1997 and 1998.

They found that three-quarters of the suicides were men, and more than 40 per cent were people who were single and had never married. Middlesbrough had the highest rate of suicides (45) and Hartlepool the least (17).

Other findings included:

* The suicide rate was highest for men aged 25 to 34;

* Men were most likely to die by hanging themselves;

* Women were most likely to die from poisoning;

* The suicide rate among those who lived in the poorest areas of Teesside was more than triple that in more affluent areas;

* Nearly half of all suicide cases lived in rented accommodation;

* Peak months for suicides were January, June and December.

Sandra MacKenzie, a nurse from the liaison psychiatry team, said: "Now we know about the people who killed themselves during those two years we can look at ways of preventing suicide.

"What we have noticed is that one single agency and one single person can't tackle the issue of suicide.

"We have got to involve services other than mental health services. The task force will include people from different agencies who will try to identify those most at risk from suicide and offer extra support."