A FORMER homeless man who regularly walks to raise both money and awareness for important social issues will tackle Yorkshire's Three Peaks this month, on behalf of a mental health charity.

Liam Perry, 35, carries out long-distance walks across the country as part of his Rise to Freedom UK campaign, where he aims to tackle homelessness and poverty.

Liam was first forced to live on the streets at the age of just 13, battling mental health problems along the way, but the Liverpudlian is now 'back on track' and divides his time between living in Leeds and in Manningham.

On Sunday, Liam completed a 43-mile walk all the way from Bradford city centre to Manchester city centre, raising money for a Bradford-based cancer charity.

Liam, who himself has lost six family members to cancer, took 14 hours to complete the walk, raising money for the Imran Khan Cancer Appeal, which provides support to cancer patients in Pakistan who may not have access to the same treatment or resources that are available here in the UK.

Along with some friends, Liam will now take on the Three Peaks - Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent - on 29 September, to raise money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), after reaching out to the sister of a former NHS paramedic who took his own life.

Samantha Lovell, from Lincolnshire, lost her brother, Christopher Ealden, to suicide in July.

"I heard that Christopher sadly took his own life, and Samantha has been campaigning for CALM ever since, so I thought I would walk to support her cause", said Liam.

"Mental health is also something that's quite close to me, I once spent two weeks in hospital and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, so it's something I'd like to see more awareness of.

"I've already walked the Three Peaks and I wanted to do it again anyway, and that's when I decided to reach out to Samantha - I thought, what better way to do this walk than to do it for somebody who's trying to raise funds and awareness for something like this?

"When she accepted my offer, I was over the moon. Mental health needs more awareness, nobody should suffer in silence."

Liam said he is "more than prepared" for his Three Peaks challenge.

"We'll set off at about seven in the morning and we should be done by four. We'll take a little break after the second peak, but then we'll just go for it after that", he said.

"I'm looking forward to it, it should be a really good hike.

"It's all for the awareness really, and to do something great to honour an NHS hero. It's definitely worth it.

"I feel great after Sunday's walk, I'm a bit sore, but it was worth every step.

"It was an immense walk, it was really tiring and I have blisters all over my feet and had to get them bandaged.

"But, as it was for cancer patients, we had to keep pushing and pushing.

"All three of us who did the walk had injuries in the end - when we got to around Hebden Bridge we slowed down a bit, and I didn't think I was going to make it.

"We were all limping but we pushed ourselves and eventually made it to Manchester in the end.

"I hope we can raise funds and awareness for CALM and mental health with our next walk."