A man from Colby has raised £4,387 for Isle Stand Up To Suicide by swimming 925km.

57-year-old David Higson was due to set off from Port St Mary and swim around the Isle of Man at the end of August, but weather conditions at the time meant that this wasn’t possible.

He then planned to complete the ambitious swim in September, but poor weather again put a stop to his plans.

David then decided to complete long swims in the National Sports Centre to add to his total distance throughout the year, eventually ending with 925km - the equivalent of roughly five and a half trips around the Isle of Man.

David’s son, Martin, took his own life at the age of 30 in June 2018.

Martin had studied engineering at University College Isle of Man and then politics at the University of Winchester.

He grew up in the island and was living in Greenville, South Carolina, United States, at the time of his death.

David said: ‘Ever since Martin died, I have been raising awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention charities. I also set up a peer support group called “Bereaved Survivors of Suicide Isle of Man”.

David Higson (right) lost his son Martin Higson (left) to suicide in 2018
David Higson (right) lost his son Martin Higson (left) to suicide in 2018 (-)

‘I am sick of hearing about people still losing their lives through suicide in the island, and I wanted to help in some way.’

David had initially planned to tow a raft behind him during his coastline swim, which would have carried the necessary food, equipment and camping gear for the expedition. The raft even weighed 4.2 kilograms.

Speaking about his idea for the swim, David said: ‘My intention was to swim in the school holidays when the low winds and good summer weather arrived. I knew that this challenge would have a massive strain on my 57-year-old body, so during the winter of 2023 and spring of 2024 I trained intensively in and out of the swimming pool to prepare for it.

‘The weather and wind was very poor this year and weeks passed by with no let up to the wind and poor weather. I kept up to date by monitoring multiple weather apps.

‘I waited for better weather in September, but unfortunately this didn’t arrive. So, at the end of September, I decided to swim another 135km to add to my training miles over the past 12 months.’

Speaking about Isle Stand Up To Suicide, David added: ‘The charity is just over 12 months old, and they provide a daily telephone helpline for adults in suicidal crisis in the Isle of Man, which is open 365 days a year and is run by volunteers.

‘There is still lots of work to do to get our suicide figures down in the island.’