The Bridgend suicide incidents are a set of suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

s involving young people in the South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

 county borough of Bridgend

Bridgend (county borough)

Bridgend is a county borough in the historic county of Glamorgan, south Wales. The county borough has a total population of 130,000 people, and contains the settlements of Bridgend, after which it is named, Maesteg, and the seaside town of Porthcawl...

. Reports speculated that a "cult suicide

Cult suicide

A cult suicide is a term used to describe the mass suicide by the members of groups that have been considered cults. In some cases, all or nearly all members have committed suicide at the same time and place. Groups that have committed such mass suicides and that have been called cults include...

" was to blame. As of December 29, 2008, there have been twenty-four known deaths since January 2007, though police have found no evidence to link the cases together.

The parents of one of the dead accused the media of "glamorising ways of taking one's life to young people". Madeleine Moon

Madeleine Moon

Madeleine Moon is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Bridgend since 2005, succeeding Win Griffiths, who retired from politics.- Early life :...

, Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Bridgend

Bridgend (UK Parliament constituency)

-Elections in the 2000s:-Elections in the 1990s:-See also:* Bridgend * List of Parliamentary constituencies in Mid Glamorgan-Notes and references:...

said that the media were "now part of the problem". Mrs Pritchard, the mother of one of the deceased added: "We have lost our son and the media reporting of this has made it more unbearable".

Many of the suicide victims were teenagers between the ages of 13 to 17.

On 12 January 2010 it was reported that another 2 people had committed suicide in the town.