Three dads who lost their daughters to suicide penned a letter to the prime minister calling for more support for young people, as they completed their 300-mile trek for charity.

The letter, from 3 Dads Walking- Andy Airey from Cumbria, Mike Palmer from Greater Manchester and Tim Owen from Norfolk-called for better mental health support for young people and the topics of positive mental health and suicide prevention to be added to the curriculum.

In their letter to Boris Johnson the men said: “Every day we walked we were joined by suicide-bereaved parents who shared their stories of shock, loss and grief with us.

“Each suicide was different (other than the outcome) but most shared the key element-that the young people who took their own lives hadn’t been given any support during their education that may have helped equip them to help themselves or each other.

“Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK. Why is this not addressed during school years?

“The current PSHE curriculum states that the education programme should “equip pupils with a sound understanding of risk and the knowledge and the skills to make safe and informed decisions”.

“Where are positive mental health and suicide prevention? If the most dangerous thing to our young people’s lives is themselves, why isn’t our education system trying to equip them to deal with that risk?”

The men set off from Cumbria on their mammoth walk two weeks ago in memory of their daughters Sophie, Beth and Emily and to raise awareness of the services available to support struggling young people.

They completed their journey in Norfolk on Saturday after battling extreme weather, blisters and challenging terrain.

Support came in from every corner of the globe and Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, as well as Manchester United’s Lou Macari, donated £10,000 each to help the dads’ fundraiser for suicide prevention charity PAPYRUS top £400,000.

Kidman said she was ‘profoundly moved’ by the fathers’ mission.

“Given the circumstances of the past 18 months and the impact of the pandemic, especially on the young, their work is particularly important right now,” she said.

“I would like to dedicate my donation to the memory of Beth, Sophie and Emily.”