Charity suggests 18,000 NI young people 'suicidal'

More than 18,000 young people living in Northern Ireland have felt suicidal, a charity has suggested.

In a new report - A Manifesto for Disadvantaged Young People - the Prince's Trust said more than 52,000 young people in NI were not in employment, education or training.

Of those, more than a third said they had felt suicidal.

Prince's Trust director Ian Jeffers said the implications of unemployment stretched beyond the dole queue.

"The emotional affects on young people are profound, long-term and can become irreversible," he said.

"While some young people respond through being hostile, angry and volatile - often bolstered by alcohol - others withdraw into themselves.

"Either way, it is a long and downward spiral into a horrible situation for young people unless they get the right sort of help."

Mr Jeffers said with support and training, it was possible to reverse the "emotional and psychological scars of joblessness".

The Prince's Trust is a youth charity working with young people aged 14 to 30 years old who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.