Suicide prevention tour to return for second year

Former football manager Sam Allardyce (left) and Andy Burnham supported the Baton of Hope in 2023.

A symbolic baton representing mental wellbeing will visit a range of communities as part of a special tour promoting suicide prevention.

The event will see bereaved families and suicide survivors carry the Baton of Hope through 20 locations in the UK in a bid to challenge stigma and campaign for practical change.

Organised by the Baton of Hope suicide prevention charity, the tour will begin in Blackpool on 1 September 2025 before visiting Cumbria on 7 September and Tameside on 12 September.

The charity said Blackpool was chosen because the town's suicide rate was significantly higher than the overall rate in England, according to the latest data from the Samaritans.

It will visit 20 locations in total, including Leeds, London, Bournemouth and Jersey.

More than 900 people carried the baton on a previous tour in 2023

Baton of Hope was set up by two fathers.

Mike McCarthy, from Sheffield, lost his son Ross in 2021 and Steve Phillip, from Harrogate, lost Jordan in 2019.

They came up with the idea of a silver baton which would be carried, like an Olympic torch, by families and friends of people who have taken their lives.

It first toured the country in 2023, when it was carried through 12 cities in 12 days, finishing at 10 Downing Street.

Ellie Scott, who carried the symbol as part of the 2023 tour, said it was "an incredibly powerful moment" in her life.

"Experiencing a loss through suicide is a different kind of grief and at times I have felt very lonely," she said.

"From the moment the baton was handed over to me, I felt safe, I felt surrounded by love and for the first time, surrounded entirely by people who just get it.

"I will always be thankful to Baton of Hope for giving everyone this symbol to remind us, that we are not alone."