The highest rate was among men in Blackpool

Conwy County has the second worst rate for suicide among women while Neath Port Talbot is also among the top 10.

In all there were 5,755 suicides in the UK in 2003, the lowest number since 1973.

Across England and Wales, there were large regional differences in suicide rates for men in the period 2000-2003.

Suicide rates for men have decreased steadily since 1998, according to the report, but those for women have fallen only slightly during the same period.

Local authority

For suicides among women, Conwy in north west Wales was second behind the borough of Camden in London.

It had a suicide rate of 13.6 deaths per 100,000 of the population, was around two and a half times the England and Wales average of 5.5.

Of the ten local authorities with the highest male suicide rates in 2000 to 2003, six were in Wales, the North West and the North East of England.

The lowest suicide rates were in London, the south east and east of England.

Neath Port Talbot was 8th in the table of local authority male suicide rates with 18.8 deaths per 100,000 of the population.

The highest rate for men across the UK was in Blackpool which had 39.1 deaths - over twice the national average of 18.1 deaths per 100,000 of the population.