A man from St Helens who tried to take his own life has said he was found just minutes from death.
Peter Taylforth, 67, said that he was found with just "five minutes to go" when he tried to take his own life after his relationship broke down, and he found himself on the streets.
"When it comes to mental health, you don't know when it's going to hit you," he said.
"It sneaks up behind you and you think you can cope but the next thing it's got you by the throat."
Speaking to the Mirror Online, he said: "It feels like there's no help. The only thing that helped me was my faith.
"Everybody on the streets is mentally ill. I know people who've hanged themselves."
Reflecting on the current state of the town, Peter said: "There's shops closing down in the town centre all the time, loads of jobs have gone, it's a dying town."
Peter now receives support from volunteers at a local homeless charity in St Helens.
His story is an all too familiar one in St Helens, a town grappling with a mental health and suicide epidemic.
The town has the highest suicide rate in the country according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
According to this data, one person in St Helens takes their own life each fortnight.
That's more than 80 per cent higher higher than the national average.
The town has subsequently been dubbed the 'suicide capital of England'.
In response to this, St Helens Council has produced a detailed suicide prevention plan to try and eradicate the problem.
Since 2010, St Helens Council has seen its funding from central government cut by 25.36%.
It also has the highest rate of hospital admissions due to mental health problems in Merseyside and is the third highest in England.
Research also shows that a large proportion of jobs in St. Helens are low paid, contributing to growing in-work poverty in the town.
Nearly 31% of jobs in St. Helens are paid less than the Living Wage, compared to the national average of 23%.
