Tour de Aky returns to North Yorkshire

The sister of Mick Atkinson, who took his own life in 2018, is continuing to raise awareness about mental health

Author: Karen LiuPublished 18th Jul 2022

The sister of a North Yorkshire Police officer who took his own life four years ago does not want his death to be in vain.

Mick Atkinson died by suicide in 2018 after struggling with his own mental health.

Linzi has been speaking to us as the 'Tour de Aky', the annual fundraising event kicks off today, where 170 people are cycling from Scarborough to Leeds.

Mick was a dog handler at North Yorkshire Police and served for 17 years. He had been off work due to knee problems and his partner returned from home in October 2018 to find him passed away.

Linzi said: "I want him to be more of a symbol of hope for people that they'll look and say they've actually seen what's happened to Mick and his family, and hopefully they'll look and think of the work that's been done in his name to help more people so others aren't left fighting.

"We're hoping to break down some of the stigma that people either talk about it because it's such a taboo subject, people still don't want to have those types of conversations.

"The legacy is to get people to open up because the one thing I remember people sahying to me is that Mick was the last person in the world they thought would have taken his own life."

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