A POET from Westlea is offering personalised poems in exchange for donations to a mental health charity.

For just a couple of pounds to Rethink Mental Illness, a charity working to provide a better life for everyone affected by mental health problems, Carl Burkitt is giving people the chance to have a poem written about any topic they wish.

The 30-year old, who now lives in London, performs regularly on the capital’s spoken word scene and hopes to raise £1,000 with his work.

He credits writing with helping him through his darkest times.

Carl said: "When my uncle took his own life a few years ago, writing stories helped keep my mind busy, it gave me something to focus on and kept me grounded in a pretty chaotic time.

"Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45, yet there’s still a taboo around the topic."

Carl has experienced depression and has a history of mental health problems in his family, so the cause is close to his heart.

He added: "Going through depression on and off over the years myself, performing silly stories for people has helped with my confidence, my wellbeing and got me out of the house."

"One in four of us will experience a mental health problem in any year.

"Shockingly, nine out of 10 people who’ve had a mental health problem say they’ve faced discrimination as a result.

"I think we all need to be ashamed of that statistic.

"Whether we have a problem or not, the chances are our lives will be touched by mental health issues so we need to be talking to each other about it.

"Charities like Rethink Mental Illness are doing wonderful things to change that and I want to do what I can to help."

To date Carl has raised £353.00 with his writing, including tales for a 40th wedding anniversary present, a mother’s day gift for a colleague’s expectant partner, an end-of-year leavers’ speech for a friend of a friend who works at a school in Southampton.

He added: "I’ll write about anything you want, just send me a word, a phrase or a few bits about someone you’d like a piece for and I’ll get a poem over to you."

To get a poem written by Carl, contact him via Twitter on @CarlBurkitt, or email ca.burkitt@gmail.com, or visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carlburkitt

For more information about Rethink Mental Illness, visit rethink.org