Three Dads arrive in Norfolk for final stretch of suicide prevention walk

• ITV News Anglia's Rob Setchell went to meet the Three Dads Walking as they were welcomed into Norfolk for the last leg of their journey

Three fathers walking 500 miles for a suicide prevention charity say they are carrying with them the stories of all those they've met along the way, as the finish line of their challenge nears.

The campaigners, known as Three Dads Walking, set off from Stirling in Scotland 23 days ago and, having walked down the east coast, are due to finish in Norwich on Saturday.

Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen, have raised more than £1.4m for suicide prevention charity Papyrus since the deaths of their daughters.

Tim Owen, whose daughter Emily took her own life in 2020 aged 19, lives in Norfolk and said this leg of the walk was particularly meaningful to him and his daughter's memory.

"We've heard thousands of stories from bereaved parents and we're carrying them all," said Mr Owen.

"There's so much good we can do in all of their memories to save other people going through what we, and thousands of other parents, have been through.

"We can save lives quite easily by putting in preventative measures. Suicide shouldn't be the biggest killer of our young people under 35 in the UK."

Three Dads Walking completed their first challenge in 2021 by walking 300 miles.

The following year they walked 600 miles between the parliaments of all four nations from Northern Ireland through Scotland, Wales and England.

They began their latest walk from Scotland to Norwich on 17 April and it has so far raised more than £100,000.

As well as raising money, the trio are trying to get suicide prevention on to the school curriculum and have raised the issue with the government and opposition leaders.

"To have Sir Keir Starmer come out and meet us at Durham Cathedral was incredibly powerful," said Mr Owen.

"For him to say how he wants to work with us again in the future, should he be the next prime minister, it feels like we are being listened to."

During their walks and talks about suicide prevention the dads often find people want to come and speak to them about their own experiences.

Mr Owen said one of the most powerful experiences was at the Keswick Mountain Festival in April 2022.

He said: "A young man at the end of it came up to us and looked me in the eye and just said 'I came up to Cumbria to take my life today - after hearing you talk, I can't'.

"I gave him a big hug. I cried a bit. But us talking about suicide prevention on that day saved his life.

"He said thanks to us all, and donated a few days later.

"It's not complicated, we're just bringing this risk out into the open."

Among those to meeting the Three Dads Walking as they arrived in the county was the Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, who first heard their story on television.

He said: "To be completely honest I cracked up, I cried for 10 minutes because the pain they've gone through as fathers losing their beautiful daughters in their prime is just a heart-rending story.

"And of course it's not just fathers that suffer, it's mothers, sisters, brothers.

"Young men commit suicide as well and, looking into this more, I realised the biggest killer of young people is not cancer or road deaths, it's suicide.

"So since that moment I've been determined to try to help them."

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