The heartbroken brother of a "beautiful" young woman killed by a train is trying to help reduce the number of suicides in Merseyside.
Flur Mcdonald, 24, from Southport, was killed by a Merseyrail train in Birkdale just after 2pm on Tuesday, January 29.
Her brother Ryan told the Liverpool ECHO: “The more we can talk about mental health the better.
"It’s too much of a taboo subject but we need to open our eyes and ears to try and stop people thinking that taking their own life in that split second is their only option, when an hour later they may be on cloud 9 and happy forever.”
Ryan told how he is now supporting a campaign for barbers and hairdressers to receive training in dealing with mental health issues.
He is backing staff at Mojos Barbers on Lord Street, Southport, who offer clients mental health support so they don't suffer in silence.
Their staff are trained to recognise the signs of someone who may be struggling and offer a safe space for them to open up.
And once a month, both male and female clients are also able to address their issues with qualified counsellor Kelly Wright, who will visit the barbers, for free.
During these drop ins both men and women living in the local area who need someone to talk to, are encouraged to come along and seek support in a non-judgemental environment.
Lesley Morgan-Macbain, owner of Mojos Barbers, is an ambassador for The Lions Barber Collective, a charity to raise awareness for the prevention of suicide in men.
Speaking to the ECHO about Lesley's work, Ryan said: "We just want anyone who thinks there is no one to talk to know that there are many more people than you think.
"So many people have contacted me after seeing my story to say that they feel like they have no one to talk to, so Lesley doing this free of charge is awesome and I'll definitely be dropping in.
"She's also got a section of the shop where you can get a haircut out of the way of other customers if you're a bit anxious and she's putting a bench outside the shop in memory of Flur which the whole family think is great."
Lesley, 44, from Birkdale, said: "There's been a lot of suicides in Southport at the moment with Flur being one of them, which pushed me to open up my barber shop for the local community to come and talk and access peer professionalism from Kelly and myself.
"We're quite privileged as barbers because we form very close relationships with our clients and being an ambassador for a mental health charity means we have to do our own training in order to pick up when someone is suffering.
"If you feel like you've got nowhere to go and no one to talk to and it can take up to 16 weeks to access services through the NHS, but you are aware that there is a barber service that holds a drop in once a month then perhaps you could at least hold onto that."
Going forward Lesley's aim is to encourage more barbers to join The Lion's Barber Collective.
To find out more about the work they do across the country visit their website
