Our son, Lucas Webb was only 16 years old when he took his own life on 12th December 2020.  For us as parents, it came like a bolt out of the blue as we had no reason to suspect he was suffering with his mental health.  He hid his struggles from us, seemingly not able to reach out to anyone for help. The Covid pandemic lockdown has affected us all but for Lucas it had a profound impact on the vital social interactions in and out of school that teenagers crave.  He had been so excited to start sixth form in September and poured himself into his A'Levels, studying religiously as always.  Family life continued as normal until one afternoon, he set off on a bike ride and never came home. There had been no argument, no obvious trigger and no concern for his welfare. He was always so dependable, self-motivated and confident and we were so proud of him.  From that point onwards our loss became a very public ordeal. It was only after his death we discovered he had been battling with his feelings for several weeks.  As parents, we strive to protect our children and yet we have not been able to protect Lucas from his own negative thoughts.  If Lucas had confided in someone, we are certain this tragic loss of life could have been avoided and we would have had him to hug, to laugh with and to share with us this Christmas.  

Young Minds is a charity which helps young people deal with many life issues from self-harm to suicidal feelings. They are also there to offer support and advice to parents and professionals.  We firmly believe if Lucas had been able to access this specialist help he would have seen how much he had to live for, how much he was loved and what a bright future he had ahead of him.  With your help, we can support Young Minds to prevent another family like ours being devastated by the unnecessary loss of a young life.

So this is for Lucas.  Our clever, handsome, witty, creative boy, who always aimed high and is a huge loss to us all. Thank you.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.