The City of York council has launched an investigation after up to five students at the University of York killed themselves in one year.

The number is thought to be the highest ever at a British university in a single year.

Saher Ahmad, 20, Daniel Pinfold, 23, Christopher Walsh, 21, and Azusa Nose, 23 all took their lives while studying at the university. An inquest into a fifth suspected suicide is pending.

Ms Ahmad had received treatment for depression for several years prior to her death. One month before she killed herself, she was taken to hospital after a suicide attempt.

She was only given one counselling session after the incident and her family was not notified of her suicide attempt.

The investigation comes amidst growing concerns about student mental health across the country. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), student suicides nearly doubled between 2007 (75) and 2014 (130).

The university announced that it will be investing a further £500,000 in mental health care provision over the next three years.

Mikhail Hanafi

(Image: UniBus)