WORRYING figures show that living in Bolton increases the risks of having a mental illness by 20 per cent.

Bolton Council and health bosses have vowed to plough more than £3 million into improving mental health services in the town. GAYLE EVANS talks to campaigner and long-time mental health sufferer, Margaret Willis, who calls for more psychiatrists to help what she claims is a growing army of sufferers

MARGARET Willis was a housewife with a young child when she started having mental health problems in the 1970s. These grew worse as her condition lay undiagnosed for five years.

She was afraid to go out of her Kearsley home, too scared to even go to the corner shop.

"I wouldn't let my husband, Geoff, out of my sight," Margaret, now aged 58, explains.

She has attempted to commit suicide three times in the past three years.

Her son, Gareth, was killed in a hit an run accident in 1999, and Margaret has failed to come to terms with the loss of her eldest child.

She says: "I just can't cope with it. I have never really grieved in three years.

"But I am only now starting to deal with Gareth's death.

"I am seeing a psychiatrist because I have a lot of anger issues. I still have my bad days and without the extra help I'm getting, I just wouldn't be able to cope."

Margaret manages to find strength in her voluntary work, which she carries out for mental health sufferers.

With her husband, Geoff, she runs a social club called BASSET -- Bolton Area Supported Social Environment Team -- for between 25 and 32 people at the Farnworth Social Circle Cricket Club on Piggottt Street.

She is not surprised at the statistics revealed in a report to Bolton Council that one in five men and women suffer from a mental illness in Bolton.

This can range from depression to schizophrenia.

"It is a growing problem in Bolton. Alcoholism and drugs is a major factor as to why Bolton has higher figures than anywhere else.

"But you can recover with a lot of willpower. You have to really want to do it -- that is a hard first step for some people."

Mental illness is no respecter of class or education.

Office workers, accountants and high flyers are at risk from stress which can trigger a whole range of symptoms, leading to clinical depression.

Margaret says: "Mental illness can happen to anyone. You can't see it, you can't smell it and can't touch it.

"I've known the most intelligent people to have become mentally ill.

"It is a growing problem among high flyers and especially young men who can suffer a chemical imbalance.

"I think parents should be more aware of what their children are going through at school because mental illness can start at a very young age.

"The pressure of exams or bullying can cause all kinds depression. Parents should talk to their children and actually listen to what they are saying."

Margaret, a former Bolton Evening News Woman of the Year, has been battling for more than 30 years with mental illness.

Her early agoraphobia stopped her from living a happy normal life with her children.

And the loss of her son has taken its toll.

"If it wasn't for the self help group, BASSET, then I don't know how me and my husband Geoff would have coped."

BASSET continues to meet twice a week from two centres on Piggott Street and the Cotton Tree Pub.

Funding was secured last year from the Single Regeneration Budget with people learning practical skills such as food hygiene and first aid as well as taking part in sporting tournaments, bingo and other social events.

Poor housing and living conditions, as well as high unemployment, are being cited as the cause for Bolton's high number of mental health cases.

Health and council leaders have pledged to pump more money into services.

But Margaret has called for the cash to be directed towards employing more psychologists and psychiatrists. She explains: "I had to wait 10 months to see a psychiatrist, which was a short waiting list.

"Some people wait up to two years. By that time it is too late."

Many people are unaware that they are suffering from a mental health problem.

Early warning symptoms can include poor eating patterns, either eating excessively or eating too little.

People slipping into mental decline also suffer erratic sleeping patterns, either sleeping too little or too much.

Margaret shed stones when she first became ill. She says: "All I could do was drink tea and smoke. I smoked between 40 and 60 cigarettes a day.

"I stopped seeing people and wouldn't let my husband out of my sight.

"I even had to follow him into the bathroom.

"What helped was finding out that I was pregnant again.

"Then, though, I worried that the baby wasn't getting any fresh air so I started going out to the bottom of the garden, then to the bus stop, and then to the shops.

"I still have bad days, but it is getting better."