World’s strongest man steps up to Scammonden challenege in support of mental health charity

The former professional strongman, 31, who won the World’s Strongest Man 2017 competition, turned out to support the Get Fit 4 Mental Wellness charity.

Also going up the 450 steps near Huddersfield was TV personality Jenny Powell, along with a host of walkers ranging in age from a four-year-old girl to a 79-year-old pensioner.

Amputee Ben Lovell tackled it on crutches while one mother carried her baby daughter up the five flights.

Every week around 75 people gather early on a Sunday morning to tackle a lap with the final climb up the dam wall.

Social media PR manager for the charity Alex Dillon said: “It’s a big family occasion, a lot of kids go. When I first saw them I thought ‘I don’t know if I can do this’. But everyone who does it says they feel amazing afterwards. You get to the top of the steps and everyone is clapping you. It is a great sense of achievement.

“As a charity we are a big believer that fitness improves mental wellbeing.”

The location is not far from suicide-risk Scammonden Bridge over the M62.

Mr Dillon said: “The point of the charity is to change the stigma around mental health.”

Statistics suggest around one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.

At the weekend a short film narrated by the Duke of Cambridge was played at the start of FA Cup matches in a “historic first” aimed at encouraging football fans to look after their mental health.