More than 150 Cumbrian artists have donated over 250 pieces of art for an art sale to raise money for a self-harm charity.

The money raised will go to Self-Harm Awareness For All (SAFA).

The chair of SAFA, Ian Burns, is speaking out to help raise awareness of the full spectrum of self-harm.

He said: "Until I joined SAFA I was very naïve and assumed "self-harm" simply related to people who cut themselves.

"Whilst this is one aspect of self-harm, there are so many other examples that people don't think of as self-harm.

"Self-harm is any form of action, routine or behaviour that is not in your long term interests of your health and well-being.

"Once you broaden the definition like this then self-harm includes all types of eating disorder; excessive use of alcohol; use of illegal drugs; excessive use of prescription drugs; over working; over exercising; excessive risk taking etc.

"Suddenly self-harm is not something extraordinary that only affects a few people, it is really important that we recognise self-harm is far more prevalent in society that we imagine.

"Some people are visibly suffering but others are suffering in silence and all deserve our support.

"At SAFA we don't deliver an off the shelf 'eight sessions and on your way' course.

"We are able to deal with all types of cases from the relatively minor to the highly complex and the number of counselling sessions fits the individual need, not some pre-defined limit, so the message is, self-harm covers a huge range of things and help is available at SAFA if there is any aspect of your life that is causing you a concern.

"Let's all look out for each other too and spot the signs when someone's actions or behaviours are likely to be causing them harm."

To raise money for SAFA, Dalton artist Sharon Wendy Tait and a team of dedicated volunteers are launching an affordable art sale which starts at 6pm on October 25 to 8pm November 28 via Facebook entitled 'ArtWorks - Art4All'.

Following on from the great success of raising £20k for Barrow & Kendal based mental health charity SAFA and Dalton Leisure Centre, Sharon and her team decided they wanted to do more to help those in need of counselling and support.

Many people are suffering with enduring mental health issues and one in four people will experience mental health problems at some time in their lives.

There are over 250 pieces of artwork with something for everyone, prices range from £5-£30, each piece would normally sell for considerably more. The sale will also give people the opportunity of owning affordable art.

You can contact SAFA at info@safa-selfharm.com.