The Eastbourne Herald has helped cut the number of suicides at Beachy Head, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.
The Herald has been praised for avoiding sensationalism in its reports of people jumping to their deaths from the top of the Sussex beauty spot. Last year there were seven deaths, whereas in 2005 there were 26, and 22 in 2004.
Stuart McNab, station manager at the agency’s Beachy Head office, said: ‘In previous years a link between press coverage and the number of incidents has been evident. ‘While fully recognising the duty of the press to report and inform, we have noticed that this has been done without sensationalism and with great sensitivity to these tragic events.’McNab was particularly pleased that the paper had tried to disassociate the area with suicides. Many people who jump from the cliffs come from outside Eastbourne.
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