Sam and Emily Stables – Community and Charity

Sam Stables knows only too well the importance of having someone on the end of the phone when you’re at your lowest ebb. It’s been over a decade since Sam, 43, tried to take his own life, sending a ‘farewell’ text to tell his mother he loved her. She immediately called his wife Emily, who was at work and asked a neighbour to check on him. They arrived just in time, and Sam was saved. “I was in a bad place and embarrassed to say I was struggling. I thought not being here anymore would make everybody’s life better,” says Sam, who farms 81 hectares of the Duchy of Cornwall Estate in Kingsthorne, Herefordshire with wife Emily, 41.

He adds: “Poor mental health in farming is 46 per cent higher than in other occupations. It’s such an isolated vocation.” The experience inspired the couple to launch the We Are Farming Minds charity to support farmers’ wellbeing and raise mental health awareness in the countryside. “Our 24-hour support line is manned by people who understand agriculture and its unique pressures.

We also train people in rural communities, such as vets, to spot signs of mental illness.”

The couple are thrilled to have won the National Lottery Community and Charity Award. Sam says: “It was fantastic. I’ve met King Charles a couple of times and winning a National Lottery Award is right up there!”