FAMILY and friends of a young man who tragically died will turn a charity challenge he had planned into one taken on in his memory - and have raised more than £6,000 so far.
Shaun Stubbs said he was ‘amazed’ at the outpouring of support after the death of his 22-year-old son Liam in the early hours of Saturday morning.
‘Popular and kind’ Liam, from Worsbrough Bridge, was a regular supporter of charities and ‘was there for everyone’, Shaun told the Chronicle.
He turned the garage of his Shield Avenue home into a freely-accessible gym - he would leave the key for anyone wanting to use it - and had planned to take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks for the Alzheimer’s Society next month.
A fundraising page has been set up by Liam’s friend Bethany Taylor after his death.
It will see friends and family support the Liam Jones Legacy and Project 14 mental health charities by doing the same challenge he’d intended to take part in.
Shaun, 49, of De Lacy Drive, Worsbrough Bridge, said: “It’s amazing, the amount of people who are going to turn up looks like it’ll be in the thousands, rather than the hundreds.
“Now, we really want to get behind these charities and raise as much as we can.
“There are a lot more people out there who need help - we know suicide rates and mental health issues are rising - and we’ve realised these charities haven’t got the funds to help those people.
“There are people passing by.
“We want to get all the country behind it and raise awareness.
“We’re trying to get a bit of good to come out of it.”
Liam’s mum Kayla Hopkinson will be taking part, and said she was grateful to Bethany and everyone who offered their support.
Shaun added he and a friend would also be undertaking the challenge but at a later date, as he’s currently waiting for a knee replacement.
“I will be there at the finish line, cheering them on,” he said.
Liam’s parents added their son will be loved and missed by everyone, including partner Naomi Stewart who they said ‘stood by him through everything’.
Liam worked with his dad at a local construction firm.
“I wasn’t just his dad, I was his best friend and his work partner - going to work in the van in the morning and coming home at night,” said Shaun.
“My son was a lovely young man. He was so, so kind.
“You’d be walking along the road with him and he’d disappear, and he’d have jumped over to the side to save a baby hedgehog.
“He had an infectious laugh and a smile that would lift anybody’s feelings.
“He was there for everyone.”
Visit gofundme.com/f/3-peaks-for-liam-stubbs to donate.
