YOUNG workers erupted in tears and applause yesterday as a union activist spoke movingly about how he had been victimised by bosses for his mental illness.

The teacher said that his depression had become so severe that one day he “almost walked into the sea.”

But in the aftermath, his employers placed him on occupational health measures and stopped him from teaching “because they said I might be a danger to the children,” he told the hushed room.

“The school were harassing me and bullying me,” he told delegates.

“If the kids are not well, they have one-to-one help, but if the staff are not well, they’re told to get on with it.”

The TUC young workers’ conference in London’s Congress House overwhelmingly voted to campaign with mental health charities as one of two priority issues over the next year.

Another delegate described how he had “never felt so low and embarrassed” after coming to terms with being abused as a child.

Railing against funding cuts, he said: “Let’s stop attacking mental health services, because, Mr Cameron, the blood will be on your hands.”

The motion, proposed by CWU delegate Ben Abrams, expressed “deep concern” at rising reports of mental health issues among young people and suggested a link to “a plague of insecure employment, increasing personal indebtedness, chronic housing shortages and cuts in support services.”

Mental health helpine service the Samaritans can be contacted on (08457) 909-090. The website is www.samaritans.org.