An England-based charity warned that the country is facing a "mental health emergency" as the number of minors referred to crisis care teams tripled in the last four years.

YoungMinds also called on the government to "take action" on the "rapidly escalating" situation.

Analysis of NHS England data by the charity found there were 3,732 urgent referrals to mental health services for under 18s at the end of May.

It is more than triple the 1,322 urgent referrals recorded for that age group in May 2019.

Laura Bunt, chief executive of YoungMinds, said the statistics "should sound the alarm."

"They are indicative of a system that is broken and a Government that has refused to listen to young people demanding change," she added.

"We are now in a mental health emergency and the Government must get a grip on the scale of this crisis."

"Behind these numbers are young people who urgently need support, dealing with a unique set of pressures for a generation growing up - living through a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and ongoing global instability. The systems there to support them are struggling to respond."

"Many young people are having to wait months and years to access help, while many others are told they don't meet the threshold for a referral to mental health services. No young person should be left waiting for help while their mental health worsens."