MENTAL HEALTH ANGUISH BEHIND LOCKDOWN BREACH

Walker lifts lid on reasons for latest flouting of rules

KYLE WALKER claims he broke lockdown rules again because he is struggling with mental health issues.

The Manchester City defender flouted the regulations to visit his family in Sheffield a month after he was forced to apologise for hosting a sex party with two prostitutes in his Cheshire mansion.

On Wednesday, Walker delivered a birthday present to his sister and collected some meals from his parents.

He says he feels “harassed” by all the scrutiny and said on Twitter: “I’ve recently gone through one of the toughest periods of my life, which I take full responsibility for. “However, I now feel as though I am being harassed. This is no longer solely affecting me but affecting the health of my family and my

young children too. At a time when the focus is understandably on Covid-19, at what point does mental health get taken into consideration, an illness which affects every sufferer differently?

“I am a human being, with feelings of pain and upset just like everybody else. Being in the public eye as a professional athlete does not make you immune to this.” Walker, 29, will be punished by City for hosting a sex party but will face no further disciplinary action for his trip to Sheffield.

He admits he hugged his sister and says he badly needs his family’s support at this difficult time. “In relation to Wednesday, I travelled to Sheffield to give my sister a birthday card and present but also to speak to one of the few people I believe I can trust in my life,” he said.