Two men found dead in Dundee woodland

The bodies of a two men, aged 22 and 23, were found at separate spots in Dundee at the weekend. A 17-year-old died on 1 July in the same wooded area of the city and an 18-year-old two days later.

Tayside's Assistant Chief Constable, Angela Wilson urged anyone with feelings of despair to seek professional support from organisations such as the Samaritans or Breathing Space.

She said the community needed to learn how to identify people going through a hard time.

Police are not linking the deaths at this stage and enquiries are continuing.

Ms Wilson said: "Whilst these tragic sudden deaths do not appear to be connected in any way, it is extremely distressing nonetheless to see four young men in our community who have taken such drastic actions.

"Many people face daily stresses and have long and deep-rooted personal problems but there are other ways to deal with these issues.

"We need to learn as a community how to identify those people who may be going through a hard time."

Anthony Riddell, 17, was found dead at around 6.15am on Thursday July 1 in a wooded area off Kirk Street.

On Saturday July 3, the body of Ragan Thomson, 18, was found in the same area.

At around 11.30am yesterday officers were called to the city`s Finlathen Park in where the body of 23-year-old man was found.

At about 3pm, the body of 22-year-old man was discovered in the grounds of Baldovan House, on the outskirts of Dundee.

They have yet to be formally identified.

Ms Wilson said: "No problem is too big that you cannot be helped through it. Any problem shared with the right person can be overcome. Talk to someone you trust or phone any of the support agencies."

Dundee City Lord Provost John Letford said his thoughts were with the families of the young men and that the local council was working closely with police.

Mr Letford said: "One death is far too many. All we can do is look into this with the police, and look to see if there's anything we can do as councillors.

"If there is, we will do it.

"It's upsetting and we have to find out the root causes of this.

"This is awful for the families concerned."

The independent member for Lochee said: "The loss of young lives is unfortunate and if there's anything we can do we will."

A Samaritans spokeswoman said its volunteers were on hand 24 hours a day.

She said: "Talking can help someone understand the way they feel, find hope or solutions and offer huge emotional relief.

"Our volunteers are there 24/7 to offer confidential, non-judgmental support to anyone experiencing emotional distress and suicidal feelings.

"Following the tragic news about the recent deaths in Dundee, we urge anyone feeling distressed or struggling to cope to share their problems rather than letting them spiral out of control."