Bridgend man, 23, is found dead

Tributes were paid yesterday to the latest young man to die in a county suffering a spate of apparent suicides. The 23-year-old, named as Rhys Davies, was found at an address in Bettws, Bridgend, on Saturday. Twenty-two other young people from the Bridgend area of south Wales area are believed to have killed themselves since the beginning of last year.

Mr Davies's death is the fourth in the Bettws area since April. It is understood that he worked behind the bar at Bettws Social Club and was due to go on holiday to Benidorm on Thursday.

A woman who answered the door at Mr Davies's home yesterday declined to comment.

Selcuk Erdogan, 24, who works at the Antalya kebab house in Bettws, said he had seen Mr Davies at the shop on Friday. Mr Erdogan said: "He was a very good guy, very friendly, and everyone liked him. I feel sorry for him. It is so sad."

The three other men from Bettws who died recently are all believed to have lived in the same street. The body of Carwyn Jones, 28, was discovered among trees in the village on 16 June. Mr Jones lived in Heol Glannant, which is where 19-year-old Sean Rees lived before he was found hanging from a tree in April.

Neil Owen, 26, who was discovered hanging by his father in June, also used to live in the street before moving to a flat above the village's Oddfellows pub last year.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr Davies's death. Tributes have been posted on the social networking website Facebook.