Britain’s schoolchildren are suffering from an epidemic of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, yet barely half get the NHS treatment they need, teachers say. Almost four in five (78%) teachers have seen a pupil struggle with a mental health problem in the past year, with one in seven (14%) cases involving suicidal thoughts or behaviour. Anxiety is the most common problem, with two-thirds of the 300 teachers surveyed by the mental health charity stem4 having come across a young person at their school dealing with the condition in the past year.

The number of obese people being removed from buildings by firefighters because they are too large to move independently has risen by a third in three years, according to new figures. Lifting equipment and special slings are often used, while windows, walls and interior fittings have to be removed on occasion to facilitate extraction because of the individual’s bulk.