Friends and family of three men suspected to have taken their own lives have come together to support a mental health charity.

A football tournament and fun day is being held next month in memory of Paul Connell, 33, Marc Wood, 30, and Ben Stone, 34, who died within three months of each other.

Mr Connell died on March 26, Mr Wood on May 8 and Mr Stone on June 10.

All three men had been battling mental health issues.

Natasha Woolford, whose husband was best friends with Mr Stone, has helped organise the fundraiser with Mr Connell's best friend Robert 'Buster' Hughes, Mr Wood's cousin Lauren Elliot and friends Rachel Flint and Craig White.

The event will raise money for SpeakUpCIC, a mental health support group based in Margate.

Mrs Woolford said: "This particular charity is very close to the organisers' hearts and we all want to make the day as successful as possible.

"Within three months we have all dealt with these losses through preventable suicides, so we want to do everything we can to help prevent this from happening again."

The charity day will be held at Newington Community Primary School in Ramsgate, on Saturday August 31, from 10am to 5pm.

Mrs Woolford said: "There will be lots of local teams competing for the memorial cup, which hopefully we will able to present on a yearly basis."

Other attractions on the day include inflatable sports, a coconut shy, beat the keeper, two bouncy castles, face-painting, hair braiding and coloured hair dye stall.

Also taking place on the day will be a raffle with a series of impressive prizes donated by generous local firms.

Mrs Woolford said: "We have been absolutely overwhelmed with the businesses who have donated to our raffle.

"We are truly touched that the businesses of Thanet have contributed to such an amazing cause. Some people aren't fond of Thanet or the people who live here, but we are proud to live in such a generous community, who all come together in these testing times.

"We would like to thank the businesses of Thanet and everyone else who will be helping to make this event a success."

Organisers are still looking for entertainers and a DJ to perform on the day.

Mrs Woolford said: "So far, people want too much money and we want to try and spend as little as possible to ensure we raise as much money for the charity as possible.

"So if anyone would like to donate their time and skills, please get in touch."

If you can help, email Natasha Woolford on mrsnatashawoolford@gmail.com, or send a message through the Facebook page, Football United - Charity Day.

Suicide stories: For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans on 116 123 at any time.

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