The new chairman of trustees for an East Anglian rural mental health charity said he is determined to help reduce suicide rates in farming communities.

Essex farmer Tom Streeter, of Harps Farm at Great Hallingbury, has taken on the leading role at YANA (You Are Not Alone).

The charity offers confidential mental health and suicide prevention support, and free counselling for people in the farming and rural industries.

Last year, it welcomed four new trustees and in March it launched a live helpline in response to a rising number of calls.

Mr Streeter is keen to build on that work to help more hard-pressed farming communities across East Anglia - and particularly to help reduce the number of lives lost to suicide.

"Having grown up in a rural area, and around farming, I have seen the pressures that this work can have on individuals, as well as families and colleagues," he said. 

"For all the idealistic perceptions from those outside the industry, there is a statistic within farming that is still on the increase.

"Suicide rates remain one of the highest in agriculture and rural areas.

"The highs that come from producing quality food bring with them the lows that can come with failure from outside influences.

"YANA provides remarkable support through the helpline and funded counselling, along with mental health training and awareness.

"With the dedicated and experienced staff and volunteers, we can continue to let anyone within the East Anglian rural communities know we are here, and we can help.

"The extraordinary legacy created by those that started YANA has given a platform for present trustees to secure the future of YANA - a charity that can and is really making a difference.”

Mr Streeter was described by the charity as "an asset to YANA and our future, we look forward to seeing this develop under his leadership for the purpose of improving mental health and addressing suicide in agriculture".

YANA can be contacted via the helpline 0300 323 0400, yanahelp.org or helpline@yanahelp.org.