Mental health service can expand thanks to Wigan dad's gruelling 'pub crawl'

Nigel Brookwell, from Swinley, got on his hands and knees in a literal pub crawl last month in his latest wacky fund-raising challenge.

The gruelling task took eight-and-a-half hours to complete and he stopped at pubs along the way collecting donations – and refuelling – as he covered the three-and-a-half mile route.

It took two weeks for Nigel to recover, but he has no regrets after raising £6,600 for Wigan-based Empathy Northwest CIC.

The organisation is run by volunteers and offers therapy sessions and other support at a subsidised rate for people struggling with their mental health.

Nigel, 48, wanted to do something to help after hearing about soaring waiting lists for mental health support from the NHS.

He visited its base on Library Street, in Wigan town centre, to hand over a cheque for the money he had raised.

He said: “The target was £5,000 so I’m chuffed to have raised £6,600.

"That money will give them stability with regards to being able to afford counselling and therapy services. The building they are in is very old and that money is also going to allow them to refurbish several rooms that are currently out of action and it will allow them to expand their services and deal with the demand.

"It was really nice to hear that. At the end of the day, there is always a huge emphasis on charities needing money and it’s really nice to learn of those specifics of where the money will go.”

Nigel hopes his mammoth effort also helped to spread the word about the work being down by Empathy Northwest.

He said: “This really caught on in the town and people were interested not just in what I was doing, but why I was doing it, and that’s really important.

"I will never really know if it has helped anyone specifically, but it has not done any harm. There may be people out there who didn’t donate, but became aware of the organisation and that could help them in the fulness of time.”

It is not the first time Nigel has taken on a wacky challenge for a good cause. His previous fund-raisers have included walking part of the Wigan 10k in a four-stone vintage diving suit and pushing a hospital bed for 10 miles at Run Wigan Festival.

And despite only just recovering from his pub crawl, he will be tackling his next feat this weekend.

Nigel will be part of a team doing a relay hike up Snowdon in the vintage diving suit, a challenge postponed from 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “I have had to re-motivate myself from what I did and go to the gym to be part of the team with these lovely people. This is raising money for a young girl in north Wales who needs surgery for her hearing.”