Stephen Dodd and Callum Edwards died suddenly within a year of each other
Stephen Dodd and Callum Edwards died suddenly within a year of each other
A man who lost two close friends to suicide within a year of each other has completed an 80-mile walk in their memory. Myles Hughes, 33, began the three-day trek at 6am on Tuesday (December 9), pulling a trailer carrying a tent, gas stove and clothes as he made his way from Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium to Anfield Stadium.
The walk is raising money for men’s mental health support and to fund a memorial bench for his friends, Stephen Dodd and Callum Edwards, who were aged 33 and 24 when they died. Both were Liverpool FC supporters.
Speaking to the ECHO on the third day of his journey, Myles said he wanted to honour his friends and help others who might be struggling in silence. He said: “We met through football. We played for a team called Newton Athletic in Chester, but it was bigger than that. We loved each other’s company and we became best friends.
“Ste was more of a sit down over a pint and discuss football and tactics and LFC. Cal was younger. He was up for a laugh more than anything else. You could call him at 3am and say your tap is leaking and he’d be there in 15 minutes. He’d be the first to defend you and the first to tell you if you’d done something wrong.
“They had completely different personalities but that’s the good thing about football, it brings different people together.”
Ste died on September 3 last year, and just over a year later on September 16, Cal also died suddenly.
Myles said: “It’s broken our hearts at the club so unfortunately this will be our last year as a team. You see their shirt number or picture on the wall and you just can’t get past the question of ‘why?’
“Not one of us knew they were struggling. There was nothing screaming out to us there was anything wrong. No signs, no distancing. One day they were there, the next they were gone. It was just shy of a year between them.
“One minute you’re training at football, the next you get a phone call to say the unthinkable has happened.”
Myles completed the walk alone, camping for two nights along the A41 before crossing the Mersey by ferry at Seacombe and heading to Anfield.
Despite injuring his knee on the first day, being stopped several times by police and getting drenched in heavy rain, Myles said quitting was never an option: “I’ve spent about four months training for it because I didn’t want to fail. When people are donating the last thing you want to do is not complete it.
“If I quit my friends would never let me live this down. So I’ve walked the whole thing with a limp.”
Myles said the walk forced him to confront the grief he had been avoiding. Describing the journey as an “emotional rollercoaster”, he said: “Mentally it’s been a wonderful thing for me. After the funerals I blocked everything out. But the walk made me think about what happened. It’s a mix of pride in what I’ve done and sadness about why I’m doing it.”
He added: “It’s freezing in the tent at night. The first night I was drenched head to toe. A lovely family asked if I wanted a chippy and later dried all my soaked clothes for me in their tumble drier.
“People have been incredible; waving from their windows, giving me food, donating. Ambulance workers even pulled over to give me water and a can of Red Bull.”
When asked what he planned to do once he reached Anfield, he said: “Take the trailer off that I’ve been pulling for three days, throw it in the nearest skip and go home to have a bath.”
Money raised will help fund a memorial bench placed “where they were happiest” outside their football ground, as well as supporting men’s mental health charities.
Myles hopes the walk encourages men who are struggling to reach out. He added: “No matter how bad it gets, and no matter how alone you feel, you’re not. There’s always somebody who will listen – a family member, friend, colleague. There’s nothing embarrassing about it. If anything, it shows strength for a man to ask for help.”
Anyone wishing to donate to Go Fund Me can do so here.
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
