A GROUP of Sellafield workers have raised thousands for a suicide prevention charity, with the help of Whitehaven-born football star Dean Henderson.
Workers at Vit and Haile on the Sellafield site competed against one another in a charity football match, with the money raised going to support Andy's Man Club.
The Premier League goalkeeper, who currently plays for Crystal Palace, donated funds and also a pair of his boots and gloves as a raffle prize.
In total, over £4,000 has been raised for the men's mental health charity.
Organisers Bradley Lofthouse, Sean Rickerby, and Nicky Bragg came up with the idea whilst on their lunch break.
After noticing the amount of interest, they were able to put plans in place for the match to be held.
Mr Lofthouse said: "It started over two months ago. We were having a chat during our break and thought it would be a good idea to have a game of football between the two buildings.
"The more we talked about it, the more we realised there was a lot of interest, from there we decided to turn it into a full-blown eleven-a-side game, building versus building.
"With the number of people who would be coming, we decided to raise some money for charity.
"As men's mental health is a big topic at the moment, we thought we could raise money for a charity through ticket sales and competitions.
"We decided to run raffles and get prizes together for the event. One of the biggest prizes was getting gloves and boots that had been worn in a game by Dean Henderson."
Bradley said that he has been a part of Tubby FC, a football club aimed at promoting men's physical and mental wellbeing.
From this, he became aware of what a big issue men's mental health is.
He wanted to help raise awareness and help men confront their emotions before they became suicidal.
Mr Lofthouse said: "We want to help the community in any way we can."
Through many raised by the match and contributions from Dean Henderson, the event has raised £4,418 for Andy's Man Club.
The team 'Vit United' won the game 6-1.
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