THE Three Dads achieved national news status with their second walk across the country to London to raise awareness about suicide prevention. 

The Dads completed a 600-mile trek in memory of the daughters they lost to suicide. Tim Owen from Norfolk, Mike Palmer from Greater Manchester and Andy Airey from Morland in Cumbria, trekked from Northern Ireland through Scotland and Wales before ending at Westminister.

In the end, they finished the walk close to their target of raising £1 million for the charity PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide. They also secured more than 100,000 signatures for their online petition for a debate on suicide prevention in the House of Commons and raised the profile of their mission to get suicide included as a topic in the National Curriculum.

The Westmorland Gazette: The three Dads completed their 600 mile trek The three Dads completed their 600 mile trek (Image: Newsquest)

This is the second walk that the Dads have done, and it may be the last. Andy said that they were 'definitely not going for another walk next year.' 

READ MORE: 'Desperately sad' - Three Dad's Walking letter provokes emotional response

Their journey gained support from celebrities such as Daniel Craig and Prince William, but nothing will replace their daughters. One of the Dads, Andy Airey, spoke about this year's walk, and his daughter Sophie Airey. She attended Kirkbie Kendal school and died aged 29.

Andy said: "If you get your head around this mess that you are in, it is amazing what we can achieve."

He said that his daughter was: "Very very empathetic, and very caring. I wish she was still here. I just enjoyed speaking with her. She was funny and kind, great to be around."

Sophie worked as a nurse in Edinburgh before she passed away. 

Andy wants suicide to be made into a topic at all levels of education, including primary. He said that some of the parents he spoke to on the walk had children that died when they were junior school age. He said that PAPYRUS had age-appropriate resources ready to go. 

If you are concerned about your children, Andy said: "There is help out there you do not have to suffer problems alone." He said that PAPYRUS has a trained support team on the phone to help guide parents.

Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK. Papyrus's hopeline is 0800 068 41 41 and is manned 9 am to midnight every day of the year.