Cambridge United groundsman who considered taking own life heads on charity walk
Ian Darler is looking to complete the virtual walk ahead of the Euro 2024 final
A Cambridge United groundsman who considered taking his own life hopes he can get more people to open up about their mental health issues.
Ian Darler suffered a serious accident at work in 2013, leading to depression and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
In 2019, Ian published a book about his path with mental health and since his recovery, he said "dozens of people have come forward asking for help".
He's currently trying to virtually walk almost 680 miles - the distance of London to Berlin where this year's Euro 2024 final is being held - in time for the showpiece event in July.
"Football is a great way of getting people talking"
"Firstly it's okay to have a bad day and if the bad days continue, you need to try and get some help," Ian said.
"It's a way of involving sport because I think as the (then) Duke of Cambridge proved with the Heads Up campaign, football is a great way of getting people talking.
"Just a change in your fortunes in life, whether that be an accident, a relationship break-up, a financial problem, that is all it takes to change the dynamics of your life and you could soon be on that slippery slope."
Who is Ian doing the challenge for?
As well as reaching his goal of 1.2 million steps - or 678 miles - Ian is looking to raise £5,000 for Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) Mind.
He is also planning to fish continuously for 10 hours next month for CPSL Mind where for every pound of fish he catches, £2 will be donated to the charity.
Ian hopes these fundraisers will give more people a better understanding of what it's like to go through similar issues to what he faced
"I think everybody who doesn't know what it's like to go through mental health issues believes you're always down in the dumps and everybody who's got depression is grumpy, but it can actually be the opposite," he added.