A MEN'S group based in Romsey walked throughout the night across Test Valley to raise awareness of male suicide in the UK.

The ManGang, who are located in Cafe Fresh, Market Place, travelled by foot from Stockbridge along the Test Way and back into Romsey to mark World Suicide Prevention Day on Thursday (September 10).

Now, the founder of the group, Andy Bishop, has revealed the walk was "absolutely fantastic", which saw 30 men participate as part of the 'Back into The Light' event.

Andy, 49, said: "The walk was absolutely fantastic, we had 30 people in total attend and I think they all enjoyed it, because I have had positive feedback all morning. "We met at Cafe Fresh at 10pm on Wednesday, where we started the ManGang almost a year ago, and got a mini bus to ferry us to Stockbridge so we could start walking at midnight.

"We started in the darkness, walked along the Test Way and came back into Romsey in line with when the sun was rising.

"The significance of walking during the hours of darkness is that's how we describe a depressive illness; when someone suffers from depression they often say they are surrounded by darkness."

The Southampton man added one of the men at the walk carried a backpack weighing "82 pounds", claiming its marks the "82 men who take their lives each week".

Andy stressed the group's motto is "it's not weak to speak" and was founded after he lost "a close friend to suicide" in 2017.

Since then, the aim of the group has been to break the stigma that can stop people from talking about their issues.

The group also offers a peer support session every Wednesday at 6.30pm at Cafe Fresh.

To find out more about ManGang, visit https://mangang.co.uk/.