Mental health bench 'will get people talking'

A bereaved woman whose partner took his own life is hoping a new bench might prevent others from doing the same.

Mary Barnes, from the Saintbridge area of Gloucester, found Paul Close missing after she returned from work in 2024 and his body was later found by police.

She said she had "no idea" her partner of 18 years had been struggling and she is now trying to raise £2,000 for the charity Legend on the Bench in a bid to have Gloucestershire's first suicide prevention bench installed.

The benches have a QR code on them which, when scanned, signposts people to crisis support services and "at night, built-in integral lighting transforms them into beacons of hope", the mental health charity said.

Barnes discovered Legend on the Bench while scrolling through social media following Close's death.

Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, she said: "People don't talk about suicide.

"They find it hard. I think it might help get people talking, even just to open up to their friends and family."

Barnes is currently trying to raise money for Gloucestershire's first mental health bench, which she wants to see placed near The Phoenix Café in Abbeydale.

"I'd like to see one in every green space in Gloucester... and I've just been told there are 200 [green spaces]," she said.

Legend on the Bench was set up by Michelle Hazard and her brother, the former Tottenham and Chelsea football player Micky Hazard, following the suicide of her son, Jay Lee Mead.

Since the installation of the original bench in his memory the charity has supplied more than 100 to communities across the UK.

Michelle said: "It's heart-warming to hear that others are behind the campaign, especially when people like Mary know exactly what we're going through.

"It's a great comfort to know that we are making a difference."

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