SUICIDE prevention efforts in Gloucestershire will be boosted with a specialist app now available in the county.

Stay Alive, the first support aid of its kind in the country, has been licensed to 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental health services in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire.

Created by the charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention, the app offers information, help and support to help people avoid suicide.

Sally Ashton, clinical continuous improvement lead for the trust, said that the app was a worthwhile investment for the trust and was an “excellent” source of advice.

“We’re very pleased to be able to offer Stay Alive for people in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire,” she said.

“The app has received positive feedback in the areas it has already been used, and we believe it offers an excellent source of advice and information for people who may have thoughts of suicide as well as those who support and care for them.

“The content is completely free and is available online and offline, so is always there for the user, whenever they are feeling vulnerable.”

The app was launched in the two counties at the Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide and 2gether NHS Foundation Trust conference, which took place in Cheltenham on Friday.

It can be accessed through the Apple Store and Google Play and includes information on national support helplines, a safety plan and a ‘Life Box’ which the user can upload meaningful photos to, reminding them of reasons to stay alive.