THE family and friends of a Bolton teenager who killed himself last year will celebrate what would have been his 20th birthday in a memorial service tonight.

Heartbroken Lewis Edwards hanged himself from the stairwell of his parent's Sharples home last August after spotting the girl he loved out with another man.

But on the eve of the service, his mum Sue has urged lonely and depressed young men to talk about their problems and not take their own lives.

Speaking to the BEN, she told how hard the past year had been since her eldest son died.

She said: "I used to cry on the way to work and cry all the way back. I still have days when I don't leave the house.

"But the support from our family and friends has been fantastic and helped us all get through these past 11 months.

"My heart goes out to other families who have gone through what we have but haven't had the same level of support."

Popular

She continued: "Lewis was a happy-go-lucky young lad until this happened. I wouldn't say he was an angel - he was a bit of a lad's lad - but he was very popular.

"His funeral was filled with people ranging from friends, family, businessmen and even taxi drivers who used to give him a lift home.

"But because he died during the summer, a lot of people weren't able to make his funeral.

"We wanted to hold a memorial service so that people could get the chance to say goodbye.

"Hopefully we will all be able to move on from this, after the service has taken place."

Lewis was found hanged at the family's Thorncliffe Road home by a burglar while the rest of the family were on holiday.

A talented chef who had trained at the famed chef Paul Heathcote's Centre of Excellence, Lewis had just started work at the Manchester restaurant, Barristers.

An inquest into his death heard he had told a friend he was planning to kill himself but his threats were not taken seriously.

The service is due to take place at St Andrew's and St George's United Reformed Church, in George Street, Bolton, at 5.45pm led by the Rev Jim Hollyman.

It will include music and memories of Lewis from his friends and family.

Everyone is welcome to attend. 'Macho' culture blamed for deaths FIGURES from the Samaritans show that suicide accounts for the deaths of around a quarter of all young men.

Tony Cox, from Rossendale-based organisation Papyrus, which offers support to the families of suicide victims and to those young people who may be considering suicide blamed the figure on Britain's "macho" culture.

He added: "It can only help to talk about problems but young men find it very hard to do so.

"Young men are under a great deal of pressure and are finding it very hard to cope in a world which often doesn't give them much of a chance."

Papyrus can be contacted on 1706 214449. The Samaritans national help-line number is 08457 909090 or the local number is 01204-521200 -- both are 24-hours, seven days a week.

There is also another group, CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which offers professional counselling over the phone. It can be contacted on 0800 585858.