Brighton PC Louie Wellfare sets up football team for mental health

Louie Wellfare, 27, has served the public on the streets of Brighton and Hove and has been awarded a commendation for his sterling work.

But in recent years the police constable has had to recover from a high impact car crash while on duty that left him with broken ribs and a fractured sternum.

He has also coped with the death of his sister Emily Edwards who died from leukaemia at the age of 29 in 2019.

Now Albion fan Louie is setting up a football team to help other men who are struggling to cope with their mental health.

Louie said: “Football has done wonders for me, it saved my life and it was my lifeline. So that is what I want to give to other people.”

Figures show that suicide is the biggest killer of men in the UK and has reached its highest rate for 20 years, with fears over the impact of lockdowns throughout 2020 and 2021.

More than 4,000 men took their own life in 2019, with Samaritans saying there are worrying trends in deaths of men aged 25 to 44 and aged 45 to 49.

Read more on The Argus:

• Hundreds of police officers have had to take time off for mental health

• Brave officer describes his mental health battle over trauma of a murder scene

Louie said: “I have always been a strong advocate of looking after our mental health. It is fair to say that in this country mental health care is poor. I didn’t realise quite how bad it was until my own mental health issues.

“I realised I had to do something to improve my mental health for the sake of my five-year-old daughter.

Brighton PC Louie Wellfare has set up a football team for men who are struggling with their mental health. Pictured here with partner Anastasia Dart who is also a police officer in Brighton

“A man dies from suicide every two hours. And I don’t think this is being talked about or getting enough media attention. How is that acceptable when it is the biggest killer of men in the UK?

“A lot of it comes from the way men are perceived and the way they should be. We spend a lot of time saying ‘I’m fine’. Then it was too late.

“It is completely preventable.”

He was presented with a divisional commendation in February last year, and was among the team who safely secured two murder suspects following the harrowing death of Serxhio Marku at Stafford Road in Brighton in September 2019.

Alongside his fiancee Anastasia Dart, who is also a police officer, he received the award.

PC Louie Wellfare and PC Anastasia Dart were presented with the Divisional Commendation by Sussex Police

Video footage shows PC Wellfare helping to arrest suspect Giuseppe Petriccione following the harrowing incident. The Italian national was cleared of murder, while flatmate Francesco D'Agostino was found guilty.

The Men United team will be based in East Sussex, and through social media it has already attracted 17 registered players.

Brighton PC Louie Wellfare has set up a football team for men who are struggling with their mental health

Louie, who is the club chairman and a striker, said the new club still needs players, coaches, equipment, sponsors, and a venue to play when grassroots sport is allowed to return after the current lockdown.

He has some support from people he knows, including his partner Anastasia who is the club treasurer, but says the aim of the project is to encourage new people to come forward.

To find out more about the team check out Men United East Sussex on Facebook, @menunitedfceastsussex on Instagram, and @menunitedfceast on Twitter.

Alternatively email: menunitedeastsussex@gmail.com.