A Weston cricketer and hockey player has raised over £1,000 for the Mind and Somerset Mind charities.

Matt Kearsey has been posting videos onto his social media to raise awareness of mental health.

His target had originally been £600, but due to the generosity and kindness of supporters the money has doubled and Kearsey says he has been taken aback by people donating to the charity.

“It means everything,” said Kearsey.

“It’s what keeps me going to make more videos, every time I feel enough is enough, I’ll get a nice message saying they are loving the videos or a donation saying ‘great work, keep it up’.”

Kearsey posted the first of his 13 videos onto social media on April 2, where he did 25 press-ups, but the success of it meant he carried on and wanted to give something back.

“The videos started off as a bit of a joke for the cricket lads, when we were supposed to play the first game of the season,” he added.

“Sam Trego put it on Twitter and it got 40,000 views and I got such a good feed back. I thought I could make some more and open a justgiving page for mental health awareness.

“With all this going on so many people are suffering with anxiety, stress and depression, so they get a bit of a laugh and can donate to a good cause at the same time.“

But Kearsley plans to keep delivering more content to help people become more aware of mental health issues.

“I’m planning on doing more videos for as long as people like them and make people laugh,” he added.

“I’m in the process of making one with the England Masters hockey team I play for.

“They had a World Cup in South Africa in September, which has been postponed until next year because of COVID-19 and they are happy to help out.

“I’ve got lots of friends who suffer from anxiety and depression and are struggling a lot being on there own, not being able to see anyone or chat to anyone.

“People can donate through my Facebook and JustGiving page. It’s open for anyone to have a look at the videos.”

For anyone who wishes to donate the link to the JustGiving page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/m-kearsey.