A father's loving legacy: how John's raising awareness in memory of the daughter who took her own life

You can watch Rebecca Haworth's piece here

A father from Northamptonshire is on a mission to help others with their mental health after his daughter took her own life. 

Kelly Hewitt was 24 years old when it happened, and now her father John is trying to help others to open up about their own struggles. To do this, he took on his own personal challenge...a 1,000 mile bike ride.

John, who's from Wellingborough in Northamptonshire, remembers Kelly as full of life. 

Struggling to deal with the pressures of life, Kelly began to experience anxiety and depression. 

And just before Christmas 2018 she took her own life. She was 24-years-old.

To honour Kelly's memory, John decided to challenge himself both physically and mentally. 

He bought himself a bike, after having not ridden for more than 30 years, and took on the John O Groats to Lands End route with a group of friends in August.

Not only did they raise awareness of mental health, but they also raised more than 100-thousand-pounds for a charity set up in Kelly's name, to help others who are struggling. 

John says he's learned from his experience that when you think you're on your own, you're really not.

"There's a lot of good people out there, even if you don't feel you can talk to your family or you can talk to a close friend, I've met people who will give up their time for free, volunteers that you know give their time up to counsel people because they do really care, they want you to pick the phone up, and they want you to get in touch with them, and they want to try and help you, and you're not on your own, just don't feel that you're on your own."

You can find out more about mental health by going to ITV's Britain Get Talking initiative