A TRAIN driver who once stopped a man from committing suicide is helping raise the profile of a mental health charity.

Adrian Bayne, 46, is swapping the railway tracks for the John Muir Way this month as he walks from Edinburgh Waverley Railway Station to North Berwick in aid of The Compassionate Friends.

The charity is a peer support group formed by and for parents whose children have died.

In 2019/20, there were 283 suicides or suspected suicides on railway lines across Britain, an increase of 12 on the previous year.

Adrian, who works for LNER, said: “I have done a bit of work with suicide prevention.

“A lot of the time in the railway, people don’t leave anything behind to say why they did it.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions with suicide.

“Families don’t get a lot of information why and wonder why they did not see the signs, did not do more or do this or that.

“You beat yourself up with a big stick for an answer that you will never, ever get.

“That is what The Compassionate Friends offer parents who have lost someone. It is a domino effect with somebody taking their own life in terms of how it affects the people involved.”

Dad-of-two Adrian, of Prestonpans’ Caledonian Crescent, is also chairman of Tranent Amateur Swimming Club. He will be walking 26 miles on September 26 to raise awareness and money for the good cause.

He hopes to complete the route in about eight hours and will be joined by colleagues from the rail industry, as well as members of the swimming club and members of a social media page called Lend an Ear East Lothian, which is a mental health support group.

Adrian has been a driver for LNER for nearly 20 years and also volunteers as a mental health first aider. He described depression and mental health issues as “a really, really horrible thing to suffer from”, making a person want to scream out for help.

He said: “Suicide is obviously a huge issue on the railway, which affects train drivers in particular but also the families of those who have taken their own life.

“I have saved a life through my training by the Samaritans, called managing suicidal contacts, where I got help to a young guy who was in a suicidal position.

“I have suffered two mental breakdowns myself but despite this I have got the help and recently became chairman of Tranent Amateur Swimming Club.

“The huge part of suicide is that people don’t like talking about it.

“We do our best to help those in mental crisis but what about those left behind?”

To make a donation, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/Adrian-Bayne; find out more about Compassionate Friends at tcf.org.uk