Shortcomings in mental health care were highlighted by coroner Terence Carney during inquests earlier this year on two men who plunged to their deaths in South Shields in tragic circumstances.

Mental health chiefs have defended the service, however, saying they are committed to providing the best possible care.

Some patients, supported by grieving families, feel they've been let down by their treatment, though, and have set up an independent support group to give a voice to South Tynesiders suffering mental health problems.

The support group, called Hidden Treasure, has been founded in memory of one of the dead men – Stephen Heslop.

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The 22-year-old stole a taxi and plunged 80ft to his death after he drove off Marsden cliffs.

He died just a day after pleading to be sectioned in the Bede Wing mental health unit in Harton lane, South Shields, on Christmas Day in
2007, but was turned away because he passed a self-harm assessment.

His mother, Jean Costello, says he desperately needed help with mental health problems and should never have been released.

At an inquest at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court in August, Mr Carney said a contributory factor in Mr Heslop's death was a failure to carry out detailed plans drawn up by the Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Trust's mental health service for Mr Heslop.

He added that he hoped Mr Heslop's fate "would serve as a lesson" to the service.

After his death, independent investigator Lorne Carlisle, a clinical education practitioner for South Tyneside Mental Health Trust launched a review into Mr Heslop's death, concluding that there was no doubt he should have been sectioned.

Ms Costello, of Marsden, South Shields, said: "Stephen was screaming out for help from the proper authorities, and, sadly, he went on to take his own life.

"It has taken for me to lose my own son to understand that there are others out there, who also have mental health issues, not getting the proper support they crave.

"It's about time failings in the mental health service were addressed.

"The system has failed my son and all his family. My only wish now, as a mam, is that no other family has to go through the pain and heartache that we are going through."

Mr Heslop's inquest came just two months after the same coroner demanded an urgent review of the service after hearing the case of Malcolm Walker, 45.

Mr Walker, a paranoid mental-health patient, died after jumping from a friend's second-floor window in Cleveland Court just hours after fleeing the Bede Wing in August 2006.

At Mr Walker's inquest in June, Mr Carney said there was "no cohesion" in the efforts of hospital staff to get him back to the wing.

The two deaths sparked an idea for a project which would "care more" for people affected by mental health problems.

A proposed shop to be called Hidden Treasure is the brainchild of Margaret Baker and her son Martin Haskin, of South Shields.

Mr Haskin, 23, has suffered from mental health problems since he was 16, and he and his mum say they feel let down by the system.

They say they want to help people get into work without risking having their Government benefits taken away.

The shop, to be opened in South Shields, has already attracted interest from South Tyneside Means Business and other agencies.

It will aim to offer opportunities for mental health users to participate and contribute to the community by working for up to three hours per week.

Hidden Treasure, to be run by mental health users and their carers, will sell arts and crafts and hand-made soaps. It will stage confidence and skills building-activities each day.

Ms Baker, 52, who had to give up her job as an administrator five years ago to care for her son, said: "We're starting Hidden Treasure because we feel society wants nothing to do with mental health sufferers, and we want to offer them some help and support.

"Very often, people with mental health problems are out of work because their employers aren't very forgiving, and usually want nothing to do with them.

"We want to instil confidence in people by offering them work in the shop, while paying them £20 a week, which, by law, means they can still receive their benefit.

"Our main aim is that people will grow in confidence, and their skills will grow, which will allow them to move into other work, and if these people have a relapse, that's all right, because we understand.

"However, we shouldn't be having to do this. The mental health system should be doing this for us."

To find out more about Hidden Treasure, or get involved in the project, e-mail hiddenenterprises@yahoo.co.uk