A dozen pupils at a Bridgend secondary school have asked for counselling after the attempted suicide of a 15-year-old girl.

Leah Phillips was within minutes of becoming the most recent suicide in the Welsh town when she tried to hang herself on Friday night. She was found and given the kiss of life by her stepfather and a neighbour.

At least seven young people, all known to each other, have killed themselves in the past year in a series of apparent copycat suicides.

Fellow pupils at Leah’s school requested help this week from a team of experts that included teachers, a counsellor, an educational psychiatrist and a child protection officer.

Michelle Hatcher, the deputy head teacher at the 920-pupil Ynysawdre Comprehensive, said that the school had taken swift action to prevent further tragedies.

She said: “There were 12 pupils who are friends of this girl and they came to us and asked for help. They were so shocked that their friend had tried to take her own life that they felt the need to identify themselves to us.”

Mrs Hatcher and the head teacher also spoke to the parents of the pupils who had asked for help and sought advice from Papyrus, a charity that works with young people at risk of suicide.

She added: “We knew we had to act quickly so we held a special assembly to explain to pupils there was support within and outside the school if they need to talk.

“Although this is the first time anything like this has occurred within our school I do know of at least two teenagers in the local area who have tried to take their own life recently.”

Leah Phillips was a friend of Natasha Richardson, who hanged herself eight days ago. Leah spent two days in intensive care but has made a full recovery and hopes to return to school in the next few weeks.

David Phillips, her stepfather, said: “I want every parent to be aware of this issue and do everything you can to protect your child. If what Leah has been through saves the life of another child then it will be worth it. We are just glad she is with us.”

It was revealed yesterday that the total number of suicides among young people in Bridgend in the past year is 13. Six were not included in the original “cluster” because they were not known to each other and had clearly identifiable reasons for their actions.

What has particularly alarmed the South Wales Coroner, Philip Walters, is that the seven victims knew each other, gave no reasons and left no notes. One of the other victims, James Knight, 26, hanged himself after breaking up with his girlfriend. Andrew O’Neill, 19, killed himself after being convicted of drink-driving and assaulting a police officer.

A special task force that includes representatives of the local health trust, police and the local authority is due to meet for the first time today. Among the issues it will be considering is whether or not the suicides are linked by the “Werther Effect”. This is the name given to suicide clusters after the title of a novel by Goethe, The Sorrow of Young Werther. It is the story of a sensitive young artist who shoots himself because of an unrequited love affair. When it was published in 1774 the book was blamed for “Werther Fever”, a series of copycat suicides, which led to it being banned.

Studies of other clusters have found that victims often come from similar backgrounds and are at greatest risk if they know other victims. News stories in the media have been identified as a contributory factor – in Norway newspapers are banned from reporting suicide as a cause of death.

In Bridgend, the Werther Effect may have been amplified by messages posted on social-networking websites, such as Bebo, in tribute to the victims. Madeleine Moon, the Labour MP for Bridgend, fears that the messages “romanticise” suicide and make it more socially acceptable.

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