A DAD is tackling loneliness by sending out educational articles written by professionals to schools on mental health issues.

Dad of five, Nicky Murnin has been exploring the issue of loneliness in Blackburn, as he feels more and more people around him are experiencing it.

To tackle it, Mr Murnin has started producing articles in his QED supplies magazine, which is a medical supplies magazine distributed to schools, colleges, and nurseries.

The magazine contains articles from various professionals including therapists, university researchers, and research scientists.

Mr Murnin said: “I do not have any formal education, but I have lived in Higher Coft Road for a long time with a community where people are lonely.

“People think it is a mental illness and then medicalise it rather than knowing the situation.

“We feel more isolated when we go online after feeling loneliness.

“I met people like that and it is not always obvious because you do not look, but people need people.”

Mr Murnin, originally from Scotland, moved to Blackburn when he was 16, and noticed that people are more likely to be experiencing loneliness in deprived towns, as there are no resources to help them.

He said: “Loneliness is normal, we work hard to maintain physical health, so we should do the same for mental health.

“But in poor communities we do not have the resources and if you look at an affluent area they have resources to deal with it.

“Local authorities do try and help, but it takes time for people to understand themselves what they are doing.”

The Dad, who is 52-years-old wants to normalise talking about it and educate young people on it.

Mr Murnin feels that social media helps drive loneliness even further.

He said: “Social media is always telling us we need this social connection, but it’s more anti-social, as we need face to face connection, and this is how trolls come about because it’s easy to target people online.

“We are never going to get rid of it, but we can educate people on the importance of real physical connection.

“It also affects children who then go home to mum and dad who are also on their phones.”

Mr Murnin wants to encourage people to submit articles for the magazine, which can be sent to info@qedsupplies.