Patrick Shaughnessy with TrustTalk24/7

A Preston student who lost a cousin and friends to suicide has created an app he hopes can save lives.

TrustTalk24/7 is a free app which provides help to anyone at risk of suicide and for people worried about their own mental health or their loved ones.

Patrick Shaughnessey, a third year physiotherapy student at the University of Central Lancashire, has launched the app in Ireland.

He raised £15,000 to get the app off the ground by working with Console, the national suicide charity of Ireland, and three other charities, The Samaritans, Aware and Bodywhys.

22-year-old Patrick said: “I had a strange dream where someone thanked me for helping them using a mobile app and the idea came from there. I then approached Console and the project just took off. I’ve been overwhelmed by the donations I’ve received from family, friends, local businesses and people in general to help me create what I hope will be a life-saving tool. If it makes a difference to just one person then it will have been worth it.

“I wanted to reach out to younger people in particular and thought modern technology is the most accessible way of doing it. Everyone has a mobile phone these days and an app that can help at the touch of a button is a discreet and fast way of doing so.”

TrustTalk24/7 is due to launch in the UK in the coming months.