A mental health group has praised Prince Harry for bravely speaking out about his own problems.

But it has also launched a scathing attack on the way extreme sufferers are treated by the NHS.

The Prince opened up a debate about the stigma surrounding the issue with a candid interview about how he mishandled the grief following the death of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

He also urged people to speak about their difficulties.

His comments come in the week it was revealed how a suicidal woman was kept waiting for 23 hours in east Kent hospitals in an ordeal that she said made her symptoms worse.

Tracy Carr, founder of Deal group Talk It Out, said: "It made me cry to hear Harry talking about his mother.

"I hope other young men will listen and seek help if they need it.”

In contrast, she said the ordeal suffered by Alice Mitchell was “all too familiar”.

She said: “We have a mental illness crisis and the services are not stepping up. I have been fighting our disgraceful system for nearly six years.”

Alice Mitchell was suicidal but left in A&E for 23 hours with only a five-minute consultation.

Diana, Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash in Paris exactly 20 years ago this August 31. She was 36.

Her sons Princes William and Harry were just 15 and 12 at the time.

For the full story see this week's Deal and Sandwich editions of the East Kent Mercury newspaper, out today.