A mother who lost two sons to suicide has said she has been overwhelmed by the support she received after organising a charity fundraising evening to raise awareness of the struggles young men face with mental health.

Luke Pullman, 38, went missing from his home in Winston Close, Greenhithe, in December last year.

After an extensive, four-day search, Mr Pullman, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, was found dead in woodland in Cotton Lane, Stone, on December 15.

Family and friends will also be remembering Mr Pullman’s brother William, who died after jumping from the QEII Bridge in January 2012.

Mr Pullman’s mother, Christina McDermott, from Dartford, organised the fundraising evening at Dartford Irish Club in Overy Street, where Mr Pullman used to work, to raise money for mental health charity Mind, and Missing People, who supported his family when he went missing.

Mrs McDermott said: “The total so far is £900. We cannot thank the Dartford Irish Club, the Gravesend and Dartford Messenger and Kent Online for all the articles and attention they have bought to these fantastic causes.

“A special thank you to all the people who donated and helped in the organisation of what was a fantastic night.

“I feel honoured and humbled by all these kind generous people. There was about 150 people at the club, we were really overwhelmed with the response it was absolutely fantastic.

“I’d also like to thank everyone who supported us and got involved, including the Dartford Valley Rugby Club.”

Mrs McDermott also said that more people needed to start talking about mental health.

“Mental health needs talking about,” she said. “It’s important that people get the help and support they should.

“The government says there is support, and there is, the problem is accessing it – it’s difficult to get help and support so you have to fight like hell. We fought like hell.”