FAMILY and friends of a man who killed himself are organising a darts tournament and family fun day in his memory.
Dean Seddon was just 38 when he died in September last year, and a year on the fundraiser has been set up to raise money for a suicide prevention charity.
Friend John Horsley who got to know Dean, a keen darts player, when he was a landlord at the New Inn in Malvern said: "There wasn’t a darkness in this world that couldn’t be brightened by Dean.
"He was caring and loving and was adored by so many.
"But behind it all was a man who fought with his own mind every day.
"The same man who would do anything for anyone but was too ashamed to reach out for help.
"A man who was too proud to cry and saw his battle as a weakness.
"Dean succumbed to the awful illness that is depression and sadly took his own life. He truly believed the world would be a better place without him but he could not have been more wrong.
"He has left a gaping hole in all of our hearts and we so wish he saw himself the way that we saw him."
Dean, who worked at Leigh Sinton-based flooring firm The Original Resin Stone, used to live in Worcester and was a pupil at Dyson Perrins High School in Malvern growing up.
After leaving as pub landlord John has continued to run the Malvern Wednesday Dart league, where Dean was a regular player.
The committee has decided that instead of refunding the fees from the league when matches weren't played in lockdown, they will donate the £841 to the Campaign Against Living Miserably, (CALM) in his memory.
PUB: The New Inn in Malvern. Picture: Tripadviser
They are also holding a fundraising charity match taking place at the New Inn on September 18 from 2pm.
John said the tournament is for everyone, no matter your experience including if you’ve never thrown a dart before.
People can enter by visiting the fundraising page that has been set up and giving a minimum of £5, after which people will be paired with a random player.
Anyone who doesn't want to take part can make a donation anonymously or put 'Non player' or 'NP' when they donate.
John said since organising the tournament with his family, the idea has taken off with it becoming a family fun day too.
"It went from being the tournament, to now we have a bouncy castle, a blow-up dart board you can kick footballs at, a BBQ, a tombola, a raffle," he said.
"We also have got Ledbury professional player Terry Jenkins coming along, who is going to sign the back of the dartboard, which we will then auction for charity."
DARTS: Terry Jenkins will be appearing at the event. Picture: Christopher Dean
Anyone who wants to take part, or make a donation, can visit the fundraising page at https://gofund.me/0df6fb91.
Dart players can also pop into the pub to sign up before the day.
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