NEW figures show how many Isle of Wight deaths were attributed to suicide last year.

Ministry of Justice figures show the Isle of Wight Coroner's Court completed 196 inquests into deaths in 2021 — 21 of which had a conclusion of suicide.

This was up from eight in 2020, and is the highest since records began in 1995.

Although the inquests were completed in 2021, some of the deaths may have occurred prior but cases were delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Samaritans said every life lost to suicide is a tragedy that can be prevented, but cautioned that a 2018 High Court ruling, which lowered the standard of proof for a suicide conclusion, meant more deaths since are likely to be classified as suicide.

Elizabeth Scowcroft, head of research and evaluation at Samaritans, said: “This is due to complexities in the process of determining a certain cause of death and the way suicides are recorded and reported.

“Official suicide data provided every year by the Office for National Statistics takes account of these complexities and is more likely to give a truer picture of the number of suicides for any year, and whether the rates are increasing.

“Their latest figures for 2020 indicate there had been no increase in the early parts of the pandemic, however, we are yet to understand the full impact.”

Men accounted for 75 per cent of lives lost to suicide last year across the country.

Meanwhile, there was a 16 per cent annual increase in suicide conclusions for women.

The Isle of Wight Coroner's Court reached 16 suicide conclusions for men in 2021, up from eight the year before.

And it found five conclusions of suicide for women in 2021, an increase on none in 2020.

Mental health charity Mind said not all suicides are mental health related, but a significant proportion of people who take their own lives have been in touch with mental health services.

The Department of Health and Social Care said it is investing £2.3 billion a year into expanding and transforming mental health services by 2023-24.

The following organisations offer free and confidential support over the phone:

• Samaritans -116 123 24 hour support, every day of the year www.samaritans.org

• Papyrus 0800 068 41 41. Text 0778 620 9697 – prevention of young suicide www.papyrus-uk.org

• Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) – 0800 58 58 58, 5pm – midnight. Dedicated to preventing male suicide www.thecalmzone.net

• Mind - 0300 123 3393. Advises on a range of mental health issues www.mind.org.uk

• Young Minds - 0808 802 5544. Supports any adult worried about a child’s welfare www.youngminds.org.uk

• The Mix - 0808 808 4994. Helpline for people under the age of 25 www.themix.org.uk

• The Isle of Wight Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team - 01983 522214