Games company staff play 24-hour- pool game in boss' memory

Michelle Beresford would be "so proud of the team pulling together," her husband Andy said

Workers at a games company are embarking on a 24-hour pool challenge in memory of their boss.

Games retailer Home Leisure Direct was created by Andy Beresford and his wife Michelle in a bedroom in Bristol in 2007.

Following a decade-long struggle with mental health, Michelle took her own life in March 2022.

Her husband and their employees will play a-24-hour game of pool in aid of Mind Bristol and in her memory.

A host of pool stars will also take part, including previous European and World Champion Ben Flack and World Team Champion Shane Thomson.

Mr Beresford said he and his wife Michelle had spoken about supporting a charity of the year before her death

Mr Beresford said his wife would be "so proud of the team for pulling together."

The couple married in 2010.

Describing her as "the life and soul of the party" and "great fun", Mr Beresford said Michelle was "one of the strongest, most amazing people" he had ever met and the world was "not the same without her".

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Mr Beresford said he and Michelle had previously spoken about supporting a charity for the year.

Once he "got over the shock" of her death, he "got the team together" and they decided to raise funds for the mental health charity Mind, a charity he had researched earlier when he was looking for help for Michelle.

Mr Beresford described Michelle as "the life and soul of the party"

According to Mind, one in four people in England will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year.

Mr Beresford said after reaching out and finding the number of people using the charity's services had sky rocketed, he was determined to do everything he could "to help raise vital funds, so they can continue to support those reaching out for help" and to "get more people talking about mental health".

Mr Beresford is also planning to take part in a charity sky dive and auction, said they had smashed their initial £10,000 fundraising target and were looking to raise a further £15,000 by June.

Mr Beresford said he wanted to help others who were at a point of crisis

"There's a bit of me that still feels like I'm all over the place. Some days can be good but some days are really tough," Mr Beresford said.

After Michelle's death, he said he started to realise how many people had been affected by mental health issues, and as a result the company had established a counselling line for employees.

"It's surprising when something like this happens. It's surprising how many people tell you - look this happened to me too."

Mr Beresford said the world was "not the same without" Michelle, who took her own life in March 2022

"You just don't know what's going on with people's lives," he added.

Mr Beresford said while stigma around mental health had "improved" in recent times and people were "more open to talking about their experiences", he learnt "first-hand, mental health is a hidden battle that people, no matter how open they are about their struggles, cannot always overcome".

The 24-hour pool game will take start at 18:00GMT on Friday 10 March at the Supreme Sports Lounge in Bristol.

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