A media frenzy could put even more vulnerable youths at risk following a wave of suicides in north Belfast, counsellors warned this evening.
As hundreds in the Ardoyne district turned out for the funeral of the latest victim, support groups expressed fears over how the deaths have been reported.
Ms Patricia McQuillan, who heads a team dealing with 120 people in the north and west of the city every week, urged newspapers and broadcasters to be more responsible.
She said: "The last thing some of the families I'm dealing with need is for this to be blitzed all over the TV.
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"I have deep concerns about how this is dealt with and how people who may be vulnerable to suicide could interpret what they have read and seen in the past few days."
With 13 young men having taken their own lives across north Belfast this year, an emergency distress line is to be set up in a bid to halt the alarming rise.
Ms McQuillan spoke out after Bernard Cairns (18) was buried at Belfast City Cemetery.
The youth was found dead in the grounds of Holy Cross Church, Ardoyne just hours after he helped bury his best friend, Anthony O'Neill, also 18, on Saturday.