A staff member from a Cheltenham business has been given four weeks leave of absence by his employer - as long as he can cycle 2,000 miles in four weeks for charity.

Mike Swinford has the full backing of his boss and colleagues at Leisure Lakes Bikes to complete his quest of cycling to Malta.

At the heart of the one-man quest to complete the journey is to raise awareness and money for the charity CALM, which works to battle against the high rate of suicide among young men.

Philip Landray, the store manager at Leisure Lakes Bikes in Pittville St, said: "We fully support what Mike is trying to do. It is personal for us. We have friends and customers who have been directly affected by the issues surrounding men's mental health and suicide."

As for the man in the hotseat, 27-year-old Mr Swinford, a bike mechanic, and Cheltenham resident and former St Mary's C of E Junior School, Prestbury, and Cleeve School pupil, it is also a cause close to his heart.

"This year marks the 10-year anniversary of my uncle's death. A shame that due to family in fighting I never knew him that well but after his death learnt we would have got on incredibly well due to same taste in music as well as other things.

"In the last few years I can count four people that we've lost due to mental health, I personally believe it's something we don't talk a lot about especially as males.

"After the loss of Lee Fancourt earlier this year I was set on doing something to raise awareness for male mental health and suicide awareness."

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Gloucester Cathedral earlier this year for the funeral of Lee Fancourt, the record-breaking Gloucestershire cyclist and father of two who took his own life, aged just 40.

Mr Swinford is well on track to complete his challenge, but admits it is by no means a done thing. As far as his job back in Cheltenham goes, it looks like he can rest easy.

"We are right behind him. He will still have a job to come back to - as long as he doesn't take too long," joked Mr Landray.

CALM , the Campaign Against Living Miserably, is described as an award-winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.

It works will work with businesses (see below) to help raise awareness of the issues and has just launched an outreach programme to do just that.

It also has a helpline (0800 58 58 58) and web chat service between the hours of 5pm and midnight 365 days a year.

You can find Mr Swinton's posts on social media using #Cheltenham2Malta. Facebook is a good place to start. His target is to raise £10,000 and he is currently on almost £2,500.

To donate visit his page on Everydayhero.com .

Strava fans can follow his exploits here .

According to CALM... 

• Every day on average 12 men take their own life in the UK and three in every four suicides are male (ONS)

• Of men under the age of 45 in the UK, more than 4 in 10 have contemplated taking their own life, but fewer than half these men told anyone how they were feeling (YouGov)

• Only 55 per cent of men who've experienced depression will tell anyone about it, compared to 67 per cent of women (CALM's Masculinity Audit 2016).

• 84 per cent of men say they bottle up their emotions (YouGov)

"This year CALM launch CALM Companies, a programme designed to promote employer-led wellbeing within and outside of the workplace, empowering working communities to support each other in a way that feels accessible and natural.

"It allows companies to leverage the CALM brand to support, engage and inspire staff with regard to mental health and wellbeing.

"We're working with organisations to build acceptance, trust and interaction while providing an integrated wellbeing programme for both men and women."

To find out more about CALM Companies, get in touch at Andrew@thecalmzone.net .