A reporter has revealed her battle with depression before leaving a regional daily for her “dream job”.

Rebecca McCurdy, of Dundee daily The Courier, opened up on how she “stopped caring whether I lived or died” after suffering at the hands of bullies.

Rebecca, pictured, made her revelation in a guest column for The Courier before she left the newspaper to join PA as a political reporter based in Holyrood.

It came after she undertook an investigation into the issue of bullying at school, running a series of stories after talking to the parrents of children affected in the samw way she was.

In her column, Rebecca wrote: “I was 15 when I first sought help for depression after years of being bullied. I’d reached the point of hopelessness – I’d stopped caring whether I lived or died.

“At the same time, I was avoiding classes where my tormentors were, avoiding revision sessions that would help me do well in my prelims.

“I’d have given anything to spend the rest of my school years invisible. I just didn’t fit in, no matter what I wore, how I spoke or acted. I was either too skinny, too ugly, too quiet or too loud.

“And it’s hard to have self-belief or look to the future when you feel like almost everyone is against you.

“Even as I write this now, there’s anxiety at the thought of my mum having to read about the true scale of my teenage sadness.”

“And it would be even worse to imagine my bullies reading it, still laughing like they did all those years ago. But it is the right time to share my story.”

Rebecca, 26, went on to discuss the effects of being bullied even after she finished her schooling eight years ago.

She added: “I wish I could tell my 15-year-old self to embrace who she is. That it is absolutely fine – and actually great – not to fit in with the crowd.

“I wish I could tell her where she is going to go in life. She will achieve her dreams, leave the small town and go to university.

“She will follow her passion for writing and journalism. She will make it in her dream career. And she will do all of this while carrying the emotional scars left by bullying.”

Rebecca revealed on 22 March she would be leaving The Courier.

Posting on Twitter, she wrote: “Excited to say I’ll be starting a new dream job at PA as a political reporter in Holyrood in a few weeks. Can’t wait to get started on the new challenge.

“I’m so grateful for the last two-and-a-half years at The Courier.

“I’ve had the best opportunities and been lucky to work with so many great people.”