'A picture of my two children saved my life'

"I didn't realise the dark places had a cellar as well, until I got there."

Crushed under the weight of financial woes, work stress and a relationship breakdown, builder Liam Challenor's mental health was taking a turn for the worse over the past two years.

In the run-up to Christmas 2024, the 34-year-old almost took his own life, only changing his mind because he was looking at a picture of his two children.

He has since managed to turn things around and on 30 June he will begin an epic challenge to push a wheelbarrow across Britain to raise awareness of mental health issues.

Mr Challenor, from Nantwich, Cheshire, said he struggled with balancing family and work life, and also spent thousands to launch an app for tradespeople.

The pressure led to him being admitted to hospital because he had not been eating or drinking for three days.

"It was really weighing me down, everything that hit me before Christmas just took me under," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

Mr Challenor also struggled to sleep and would find himself walking around town in the early hours of the morning.

"The next day, you're not in the mental space to go to work so you're not earning any money," he added.

The tradesman said it was a customer who noticed how low he was and they helped him turn a corner by focusing on the positive aspects of his life.

He said walking, getting out into nature and learning to enjoy his own company helped him with his ongoing issues.

"Start to enjoy your own company," he said. "I promise things will get easier and things will get a lot better."

Mr Challenor's challenge will see him push a wheelbarrow from Land's End in Cornwall to John o' Groats in Scotland in 61 days.

The wheelbarrow will contain the weight equivalent of his two children and he will walk the route solo in hi-vis clothing

The distance between the two locations is 603 miles, though he could end up walking up to 1,200 miles, he said, due to avoiding some of the main roads.

As well as raising awareness of mental health, Mr Challenor will be fundraising for Band of Builders, a wellbeing charity for people in the industry.

He said: "I want to spread a bit of happiness to people who are down in the dumps and need picking up."

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