A grieving mum from Sunderland is raising money for a bench to be erected in Herrington Park in memory of her "loving and caring" son who tragically took his own life.
Michelle Agho from Town End Farm hopes to raise enough money for an "angel wings" bench in memory of her only son Michael Doda who died in 2017 at the age of just 24 leaving his family devastated.
The 61-year-old said she would like the bench to be erected in Herrington Park which is where her nature-loving son spent a lot of his time with dog Simba.
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Paying tribute to her son, who would have turned 30 last week, Michelle said Michael was a "proper gentleman" and would do anything for his family and friends.
She said: "He was such a lovely boy. Michael was like the baby of the family, he had four older sisters who always looked out for him.
"Michael would do anything for anyone. He was a proper gentleman, he was caring and loving, he was just my everything.
"The whole family is just devastated. I'm just one of many mothers who have lost a child in such a tragic way like this.
"There was not a day or night that went by without me and Michael telling each other that we loved each other. We all just miss him so much."
Michelle explained how Michael talked about ending his life one day after work and urged him to go to the doctor.
The following morning, however, Michael tragically killed himself leaving his family heartbroken.
Michelle explained: "He came in from work and I said: 'What's wrong?' He said: 'I just wanted to kill myself today'.
"He said he hates having to work because you don't have time to spend with the people you love and life is about being with those you love."
Michelle said Michael worked ever since he was 16 and went to college to become an electrical engineer before eventually working at the Port of Tyne.
She said: "I used to tell him: 'You're achieving things just by going to work and one day you will have your own family and that's an achievement' but I never thought he wouldn't be here."
Michelle said her son loved life and had a wide array of hobbies and interests including running, boxing, and even cage fighting.
She said: "Whatever he did he always made sure he was the best at it. He started boxing and for his first fight, he was listed as the main event.
"He bought a guitar in 2016 and he taught himself how to play and started writing his own songs.
"I said why don't we save up some money so that you can go into a recording studio and record your songs.
"He said: 'Mam do you think I'm good enough?' I said: 'You're just as good as anyone out there' and he was so happy, so built up.
"Michael was so health-conscious he would only eat healthy things and would drink green tea, he didn't drink alcohol. He wouldn't even take a paracetamol for a bad head.
"He loved to go into the forest and just to be around nature. He would often drive to the beach in the middle of the night just to walk."
But despite his shining personality, Michelle believes he kept a lot of his feelings and emotions to himself and only saw him cry the day before he died.
The mum wants to raise awareness of men's mental health to ensure that men talk about how they're feeling.
She said: "I never saw Michael cry, that was the first time I saw him cry and I told him to cry his eyes out, to let it all out.
"I said if you don't cry your head will burst. I think he kept a lot inside.
"I really want to raise awareness of men's mental health and that it's okay to let your feelings out.
"I had never heard of suicide years ago, it was only when I was 14 that I heard about suicide when my friend's brother killed himself. It was always swept under the carpet."
Michelle has set up a Go Fund Me page with a target of £1,500 to try and raise money to go towards a memorial bench and so far £175 has been raised.
If you would like to donate, you can do so here.
