On Thursday evening the annual meeting of Towards Zero Suicide, an event hosted by Cornwall Council Public Health, was held in Falmouth for the first time.

These annual events are all about raising awareness of suicide prevention and furthering to reduce the stigma around mental health.

Their aim is to create innovative ideas for services and interventions that can be implemented to save people's lives - and eventually get Cornwall suicide free.

Around 120 people were in attendance last night, including those from businesses and the emergency services, to discuss new initiatives that could help make a change to the current crisis.

Statistics show that Cornwall and the Isle of Sicily has one of the highest rates of suicide in the UK - with 70 to 80 people committing suicide in Cornwall a year.

Nub News Falmouth met with Dr Ruth Goldstein, Public Health Consultant with Cornwall Council, she said:

"This year we brought the event to Falmouth because one of our initiatives is trying to make Falmouth a suicide safer community.

"We know there are mental health problems associated with having a large student population, large areas of deprivation, a big night-time economy and a lively fishing community.

"All of these things mean we have a lot of people struggling with mental health issues here in Falmouth.

"Tonight is all about seeing what initiatives we can do, what education we can give and how we can get Falmouth talking about their mental well being.

"We can not just leave it up to the professionals now, we all need to take action and get involved''.

If you are experiencing any mental health issues and in need of some support - press the button down below for Cornwall Council's help and advice page.