THREE inspirational dads have raised more than a million pounds in honour of their daughters who each sadly took their own lives.

Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen visited suicide prevention charity, Papyrus, at its headquarters in Warrington, to tell their heart wrenching story of a 600-mile hike to raise awareness of the rise in young people committing suicide.

During their trek, the three visited all four of the UK’s Parliaments to continue their ‘tireless’ campaign to have the issue of suicide placed on the national curriculum.

Julie Ferns, a community engagement officer with Vistry Partnerships Northwest, met with the Three Dads at the charity to hear about their campaigning and fundraising efforts to remember their daughters: Sophie, Beth and Emily.

Andy Airey, from Cumbria, lost his daughter Sophie just before Christmas in 2018. He has spent the last four years fighting for suicide awareness to be on the curriculum in schools so children can learn and be educated on the topic.

“Suicide is a national problem which can affect anyone at any time, it is the biggest killer of people under the age of 35,” Andy said.

“One of the key things that we have been trying to do is to raise awareness around the issue and to talk to as many people as possible.

“We are hoping to add suicide awareness to the school curriculum, for us that is the best way of reaching as many young people as possible,” He added.Warrington Guardian: Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen trekked 600 miles to raise awareness of the rise in young people committing suicide.Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen trekked 600 miles to raise awareness of the rise in young people committing suicide. (Image: Newsquest)

Papyrus was founded back in 1997 by a group of bereaved parents who had lost children to suicide and has grown into a national charity working to ‘tackle’ suicide rates among young people.

Construction group Vistry elected Papyrus as its charity of the year, having put on several events throughout the year to raise money for the cause after seeing links in high figures of suicide within the construction industry.

A spokesman said: “As a company we have been doing a lot of work with Papyrus, and it invited us to come in and meet the Three Dads when they called into the office during their latest walk.

“It was an incredible privilege to meet all three of them and hear their story in person. The work they have done to raise the issue of suicide among young people is incredible and all three of them are truly inspirational people.

“They are incredibly upbeat and are determined to get the message out there around the issue of suicide amongst young people.

“Spending time with them and talking to them about their experience helped to underline why it is such an important issue for all of us.”

To find out more about the charity Papyrus and the work it does, visit papyrus-uk.org