MEMBERS of the family of a young man who took his own life are to camp out overnight in Skipton town centre to raise awareness of depression.

The brothers and sisters of 20-year-old Samuel Carroll, who died in May last year, launched a campaign, Samuel's Rainbow, to help people combat the condition.

Family members will spend the night on Skipton High Street, probably outside the town hall, on Sunday, July 2.

Samuel's sister Hayley, 25, said they wanted to encourage people to come along and have a chat with them.

She explained: "The message we want to get out is that people find depression is worse at night - but that there is always someone out there to help and listen to you.

"We are encouraging people to join in with our campaign as the more people we have, the more people we can try to help.

"If people don't want to join in over night then they can simply come down for a chat.

"We want everyone to all join together as one and help each other.

"We control our depression - depression doesn't control us."

Samuel's five brothers and sisters, including his twin brother Steven, started the campaign last summer. It was promptly backed by Skipton MP Julian Smith and Skipton townsfolk have supported several events in memory of Samuel.

He had "suffered in silence" following the 2014 death of his father Steven and was found dead in woodland near Skipton.

The family gathered 10,000 signatures on a petition to Parliament calling for greater awareness of the dangers of depression.

Importantly, Hayley added, she had been told of a young man whose own family had got him help after reading about Samuel.

She said: "This young man reached out to his family and they got him the right care. Without Samuel's Rainbow he may not have spoken up.

"And that makes all our campaigning so worth it - it makes me so proud that even though we lost Samuel to depression, he's still saving and helping lives with his legacy."