A strategy to reduce suicide that has been credited with producing a significant reduction in the number of people taking their own lives will now be copied in Wales.

Since Choose Life was launched in Scotland in 2002, the overall suicide rate has fallen by 13 per cent. It is hoped that the rate will fall to 20 per cent by 2013.

Dougie Paterson, of Choose Life, said that it was vital to encourage those young people who are most at risk to speak out. “Every suicide is a tragedy,” he said. “People do not want to die, they want to end the pain they are experiencing. We need to reach out to them and explain that suicide is final, while the pain could well pass.

“What we have to tell them is that there are other ways to deal with your pain and encourage them to talk about it,” he said.

Edwina Hart, the Health Minister for Wales, said yesterday that her approach would take account of the Scottish Executive’s Choose Life antisuicide campaign.

In the case of clusters of suicides such as those in Bridgend, Mr Paterson would recommend sending coun-sellors into targeted communities and involving local agencies such as the police and social services.

“There needs to be coordination on a local level, going straight to those who are vulnerable,” he said. “One measure is to speak to groups as part of the school curriculum. The other is to give people a local helpline.

“It can also be very important to set up support groups for the families of those who have either attempted or committed suicide, so that people can speak openly about something which is still taboo.” He said that the success in Scotland had centred on encouraging young men to address their own suicidal feelings. “Three out of four suicides are male, and this has been an important part of our work,” he said.

Mr Paterson dismissed criticisms aimed at social networking sites such as Bebo and Facebook for carrying tributes to those who had killed themselves. “I don’t think you can stop people [grieving on social websites]. They are an outlet for many young people,” he said.

Choose Life was allocated £12 million to support it until 2006. A further £8.4 million will be spent before 2008.

The Bridgend task force is to apply to the National Lottery for funds to support its campaign.

Marjorie Wallace, of the mental health charity SANE, said that the Welsh minister’s prevention plan should be applauded. “Suicide can be prevented, as we know from the many callers who contact our telephone helpline. People can be helped to see other options and to seek treatment for what may be underlying depression,” she said.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 20 people – 14 of them young men – took their lives in the Bridgend area in 2006, while Merthyr Tydfil had 10 suicides and Rhondda Cynon Taff 18.

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