Leicester dad's pledge to help others after son's suicide

Jamie Scott's father (right) said his son was a "golden boy"

A father whose son took his own life weeks short of his 18th birthday has opened up about his loss five years on.

Peter Kenny and Dinah Scott, from Westcotes in Leicester, lost their only child Jamie "completely out of the blue" in 2019.

They have since committed to helping ensure other families do not go through the same pain.

Mr Kenny, 66, has released a music album about his experience five years on in Mr Scott's memory.

He describes his late son as a "bit of a golden boy", who was bright and always reading.

"Whenever we went to parents' meetings and we sat down with a teacher, their face would always light up when they realised who they'd be talking about," he said.

About 300 people attended Mr Scott's funeral, his father said

Mr Kenny said the day his son died started out as "just a very normal day".

Mr Scott was at home, having recently finished his A-levels, and went to a neighbour's house to dog-sit before heading out for the afternoon.

But the 17-year-old never returned.

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His dad has spent the past year writing and recording an album with his band Just the Dust, in Mr Scott's memory, called Beautiful Shining Perfect Boy.

He said while he and Ms Scott would "always carry the weight of Jamie's loss", he hoped sharing the album inspired by his son would help others.

"I guess we started trying to think of other people right [after Jamie died] because he had lots of friends and we put a lot of effort into getting them involved in the funeral," Mr Kenny said.

Between them, he and Ms Scott have since run a marathon, organised a concert and walked the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland in memory of Mr Scott, while raising money for suicide prevention charity Papyrus.

"One of the things that really struck me when I did the Cape Wrath Trail was that half the people I met and talked to told me about some personal experience they had about losing people to suicide," he said.

"I thought about it, and when Jamie died, that affected hundreds and hundreds of people - nearly 300 people came to his funeral."

To Mr Kenny, being able to help prevent others from going through what he and Ms Scott have, was "a necessity" as much as a choice, he said.

They are organising a concert called Songs for Jamie at music venue The Musician in Leicester, on 7 April, to launch the album.

Mr Kenny said: "If we can help to save just one family going through the loss of a child this way, it will be worth it."