A TROUBLED teenager who begged for more help has received ‘amazing’ support from family, friends and strangers.

Rebecca Stanford, 16, who is battling depression and has thoughts of ending her life, has taken two overdoses and most recently stood on the edge of a train station platform.

But following her appeal for more help from counsellors she has been contacted by other mental health sufferers and is now hoping to set up a support group to help herself and others in Weymouth.

The former Wey Valley School and Sports College pupil was visited by Stuart Skinner, from Weymouth, who battled his own depression by using physical exercise and becoming a qualified mental health first aid instructor.

Rebecca and her mother Debbie were also visited by a 15-year-old boy and his mum and learned how he is overcoming his problems.

Rebecca, from Littlemoor, said the teenager brought her some oil to help her self-harming scars to heal on her stomach, wrists and legs. He also told her how she can ‘ping’ elastic bands on herself instead of cutting herself when she is down.

She said: “The huge response has been amazing. I’ve had old school friends saying I’m amazing and brave to speak out.

“One mum called me whose son went through the same thing and they are willing to help me in every way possible.

“And someone who used to bully me and made my life hell has been really nice.

“That made me cry more than anything else.”

Rebecca said she wants to set up a support group where fellow sufferers can ‘meet and hang out like a youth club but with someone who can provide professional help if they need it’.

Mr Skinner, from Belfield Park Avenue, said he would be happy to help with fundraising and organising.

He said: “I go to a group and I think speaking to your peers is very therapeutic as you think you are going through this on your own. You get to hear what works and get tips on what helps others.”

Rebecca’s mother Debbie said speaking to another mother has been a big help.

She said “As a parent you think you’ve failed and ‘why is she like this if I’ve not done something wrong’.

“But it’s one of those things that can happen and now there’s somebody out there to talk to who has been through the same.

“It was very helpful to hear somebody say ‘you will get through this there is a light at the end of the tunnel.’”

Debbie said she is often on a knife edge worrying about her daughter and Rebecca ‘had a really bad spell last week and nearly jumped in front of a train’.

In a bid to ensure her safety Rebecca is spending more time with her elder sister and has had a two-hour meeting with a psychiatrist and counsellor to review her progress.