Hundreds of farmers have started to admit they have been suffering from a “hidden problem” as Labour's inheritance tax raid on family farms looms.
The Farm Safety Foundation - a charity that seeks to prevent suicide - saw a 55 per cent increase in the need for its counselling services, as well as a 13 per cent rise in the number of calls to its crisis support line from last year.
The charity noticed the leap in figures after Rachel Reeves announced her inheritance tax raid when she delivered her October Budget.
Beef farmer Daniel Boomer, 22, is just one of the farmers affected by the tax hike.
Hundreds of farmers have started to admit they have been suffering from a “hidden problem” as Labour ploughs on with its inheritance tax raid later this spring
PA
"It's really affected people's mental health because it's constant. It's that weight on your chest every day," he told The Express.
He explained that farmers have often felt poorly portrayed by critics as "rich landlords" with an abundance of wealth, yet he has argued this is not the case.
"It's a pressure cooker. Everything's just boiling and busting and something will break at some point. I've been very close to taking my own life.
"I knew I had to speak to someone about it because it was really hurting me every day. And every day it gets heavier and heavier," Boomer admitted.