A GROUP of Evesham pals are organising a charity football match after a close friend of theirs tried to take his own life.

Sam Tomkins and his friends Ben Tattersall and Tom Brundle were shocked into looking to do something to help after a friend of theirs went missing and tried to commit suicide.

He spent some time in hospital and is now on the road to recovery.

The friends have come up with a fun vicars and tarts football match with the fee paid for entry being donated to a charity that helps prevent male suicides. Their efforts are also aimed at raising awareness after they found out how high the statistics were stacked against men.

"After researching we decided to raise money for CALM (Campaigning Against Living Miserably). The charity exists to prevent male suicide in the UK. Seventy seven per cent of all suicides in the UK are males," said Mr Tomkins.

"The aim of the day is to raise awareness and as much money for the charity as possible. Suicide is now the single biggest cause of death of males between the ages of 20 to 49 in England and Wales. This fact shocked us the most and was part of the reason we wanted to make as many people aware of this problem as possible. We also wanted to show care and support to our friend," he added.

The football match has been organised for Saturday December 6 between 12 noon and 7pm on one of the football pitches at Badsey Cricket Club. The price of entry is £3 per person and under 12s free. The match itself kicks off at 1pm.

More information on the work of CALM can be found at www.calmzone.net