ST HELENS has come top of a list showing male suicide rates among areas which have a Super League team.

With this weekend seeing rugby league's top-flight hosting its annual State of Mind round, dedicated to mental fitness awareness in UK sport, the figures have been released.

St Helens has the highest rate of male suicides from 2014-16 at 27.1 per 100,000, compared with the England average of 15.3.

The second highest rate was the Catalan area at 23.1, higher than the France national average of 16.9.

The figures come after the borough's public health director revealed St Helens had the fourth highest overall suicide rate in England in 2017, with 28 recorded.

Ahead of this weekend's round of fixtures, Dr Phil Cooper, co-founder and trustee of State of Mind, said: “The reason State of Mind was formed was to try and prevent one more person taking their own life. There is always work to do as you can see from the Super League club table of rates of recorded suicides in Super League club areas.

“The State of Mind – Offload round of fixtures are one way to get the message across that it’s OK to offload safely and it can have great results in your personal life. There are plenty of opportunities to get help and support that people can access.”

It is estimated that the average cost per completed suicide for those of working age only in England is £1.67m.

Each suicide is estimated to impact a substantial number of people and men are three times more likely to take their own lives.

Since its formation in 2010, State of Mind, along with the RFL and North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust know of 31 men who have told us that the presence of State of Mind has changed their mind about taking their own life.

This equates to a potential saving of £51.7m.

Here is the 'league table', based on figures from the office for National Statistics in December 2017:

1 St. Helens 15.3 27.1

2 Catalan Dragons 16.9 (France Average) 23.1

3 Hull FC 15.3 20.5

4 Hull KR 15.3 20.5

5 Castleford 15.3 18.5

6 Wakefield 15.3 18.5

7 Leeds 15.3 18.3

8 Wigan 15.3 18.1

9 Salford 15.3 17.2

10 Huddersfield 15.3 15.2

11 Warrington 15.3 14.2

12 Widnes 15.3 10.7

Note: Wakefield and Castleford come under the same local authority area as do Hull FC and Hull KR.

For information and support on your mental health, visit stateofmindsport.org