A farming family has spoken openly about their experience of losing a loved one to suicide to raise awareness of mental health in the rural community.
Brother-and-sister Robert and Susan Arkley have described the impact of the tragic death of their uncle David Arkley, which left the Scottish farming family devastated.
Based at Kingsfield, near Linlithgow, West Lothian, they have decided to talk about what happened eight years ago in a new short film.
It is part of the #KeepTalking campaign being run by Scottish farming charity RSABI, which runs until 21 June.
The campaign ends on what would have been the final day of the Royal Highland Show, but had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite this, the farming charity is still encouraging farmers to make the time to pick up the phone - or chat online - to connect with other people.
Susan Arkley said she hoped that people hearing their story would realise how important it was to 'take time to talk and listen to others'.
“It is hard for us to understand why David didn’t talk to us about how he was feeling and we are sure if he had just spoken about how he was feeling, we would still have him with us," she said.
“So we hope that by us all speaking about it as part of the RSABI campaign, we might encourage other people who might be feeling like he was, to find someone they can talk to.
"There is always someone to talk to and if you don’t feel you can speak to a friend, neighbour or family member, please pick up the phone and speak with RSABI.”
Nina Clancy, chief executive of RSABI, said the video was a 'very powerful' account of what the family went through after suddenly losing David eight years ago.
"Their experience shows just how far-reaching and long-lasting the impact of the loss of a family member in this tragic way can be.
“One clear message is that people like David - who was popular and outgoing - can appear to be ok, when they are not," she said.
The ongoing campaign includes a national #KeepTalking Day on Thursday (18 June), which was due to be the first day of the Royal Highland Show.
RSABI and the campaign’s supporters are encouraging everyone to make a call to someone they haven’t spoken with in the past six months.
The charity has a helpline supported by the Royal Highland Agricultural Society Scotland (RHASS), - 0300 111 4166 - which is available seven days a week, 365 days a year.
