MEN STRUGGLING with their mental health can now receive free support at a newly formed group in Eastleigh.

Andy’s Man Club now has a chapter at Silverlake Stadium - the home of Eastleigh FC.

It offers support to men in and around Southampton so they can talk openly about their mental health.

The club forms part of a national organisation created in memory of Andy Roberts, a man who took his own life.

The set-up in Eastleigh is spearheaded by Hamble resident Steve Fletcher.

The 42-year-old teacher said: “This is the 70th club in the country and it offers peer to peer support groups for men.

“It’s about helping each other with mental health problems and reducing the suicide rate in men, that is the aim of the club.

“This is the first club in Southampton, so I am quite excited. We plan to have them across Hampshire.”

According to data from the Samaritans, in 2020 the male suicide rate was 15.3 per 100,000 compared to the female suicide rate of 4.9 per 100,000.

And males aged 45 to 49 continue to have the highest suicide rate, at 23.8 per 100,000.

Steve added: “This club is vital. There is a massive waiting list for mental health for everyone, not just men. The waiting list has gotten worse in the pandemic. This is a way of helping people without them going through the waiting lists.

“You come and have a cup of tea and a chat. It’s all confidential and the main thing is that it is non-judgemental. Men can talk in a non-judgemental environment.”

The group, which meets weekly, is open to any man over the age of 18 and there is no cost or waiting list.

Further information can be found by searching Andy’s Man Club Eastleigh on Facebook.