THE daughter of a headteacher, who took his own life, has launched a fundraiser for a suicide prevention helpline to save others for her 21st birthday.

Owain Richards was aged 42 when the Ipswich dad was found dead in his home in 2010.

His daughter Charlie was just 12 and son, Oscar, was only in primary school.

Now 21, third-year degree student Charlie has not only followed in her dad's teaching footsteps, but will be donating more than £500 to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

What she wants people to understand is suicide is not a selfish decision.

She said: "It's bad people think of it like that because it could be someone's last resort and is really negative and demeaning to someone who's struggling.

"Lots of people on social media share posts which say suicide or self-harm is selfish and sometimes if I see it, I will message the person privately.

"What happened to our family was horrible - I cry, I really struggle, especially at birthdays and each Christmas.

"Graduating will be huge and I think about my wedding - my brother will have to walk me down the aisle - but I have to try to be positive because lots of good things came out of my dad's death.

"Lots of money has been raised in his name and my family are unbelievably close.

"He'd be so happy with what I'm doing now."

Gazette:

The father and daughter had a strong bond

Owain was former deputy headteacher of Great Bentley Primary School and had been a teacher at Burrsville Primary School in Clacton.

Both he and Charlie's mum were teachers and she has fond memories of filling out her dad's registers after school, but for her teddy bears instead.

"He was really sporty as well and eventually we became this little running family.

"And very loud. He was so used to the noise from the classroom he'd bring the volume home with him," Charlie joked.

It emerged at the inquest Owain left a note before he took his life.

Just a few days earlier he had called Charlie, who had been inside the cinema with a friend.

In hindsight, Charlie believes he was saying goodbye.

The university student said: "He told me he loved me which was weird because we didn't say it much. Then he called again five minutes later and told me to tell Oscar he really loved him.

"I replied that we'd see him at the weekend and he just said, "Yeah...yeah".

Gazette:

Teaching student Charlie Richards has followed in her parent's footsteps 

"It's really hard because I've thought, well if that happened now, I'd have pushed and asked what's wrong.

"At that age, I ignored it. I didn't even tell my mum.

"I feel I could've done more although I know I couldn't have. I try not to think about it."

With mental health being a big talking point in primary schools, Charlie wants to teach young children to check on their friends and how to spot any signs of them not being OK.

When she discovered her dad had died, Charlie, of West Bergholt, went into denial.

She said: "My way of coping was to ignore it.

"I went to school the next day and didn't tell anyone until about a week later because I didn't want to be the weird one with no dad.

"That day I was smiling and laughing, but then I came home and the atmosphere was completely different.

"It was just a massive shock to us all."

To donate to Charlie, click here. 

  • If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, click here for the NHS' list of helplines.