MEMBERS of the Eastleigh community are being called upon to help fight against loneliness in new parents this Halloween with a fancy dress charity walk.

The 'big push' walking event has been organised by the volunteers at the Eastleigh branch of the National Childcare Trust, who want as much support from the community as they can get to 'give loneliness the big push' and raise funds to helps support families affected by postnatal depression.

At 2pm, on Saturday November 2 , the walk takes place around Hiltingbury Recreation Ground, followed by activities inside the community ground including a raffle, face painting, craft sessions, refreshments and the fancy dress contest.

Tamsin Leyman, volunteer for Eastleigh NCT said: "This event is raising awareness and funds to help Eastleigh & District NCT combat new parent loneliness and support families affected by postnatal depression and other perinatal mental health conditions, which is very close to my heart as I experienced it with my eldest child and being involved in the community helped me through it.

"The NHS estimates that 1 in 10 new mothers will experience postnatal depression, but research commissioned by NCT has found that from the 1,000 mothers surveyed, nearly half hadn’t had their problem identified by a health professional and hadn’t received any treatment and many of these new mothers said they were too embarrassed or afraid of judgement to seek help."

The event takes place at The Hilt Hiltingbury Recreation Ground, Hiltingbury Road, Eastleigh.

Tickets cost £5 for a standard adult, £8 for a family ticket and children under 12 are free, while if you can't attend the event but want to donate to the cause, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Eastleigh-BigPush2019.

For full ticket prices and information visit https://www.facebook.com/events/the-hilt/nct-eastleigh-halloween-fancy-dress-walk-big-push-2019/739338073180659.