A restaurant chain which began in Bridport has donated thousands of pounds to help break taboos around mental health.

Over Christmas, pizza and cider restaurants The Stable donated the money it would have spent on Christmas crackers and party hats for large bookings to mental health charity Dorset Mind. This raised £3,000 but now Fuller's, which owns a 76 per cent stake in the chain, has matched the money, making a total donation of £6,000.

The Stable was founded in Bridport, Dorset and chose Dorset Mind as its charity partner in March 2017. Since then it has been donating and hosting events to raise funds. Each of The Stable’s 17 locations has paired up with a branch of Mind and aims to help make a difference to the on-going mental health campaigns and support services.

David Gough, Operations Director of The Stable, said: “People are becoming more aware about issues surrounding mental health and rightly so. I’m delighted to work with Mind to not only raise money, but awareness too. As a business with young team members and young customers, I hope this partnership means we encourage young people to fight the taboo surrounding mental health and get people talking to each other about these serious issues. I’m really proud of this partnership and am looking forward to seeing where it will take us. We’ve already got some great fund-raising initiatives in place and I’m excited to be working closely with the teams at Mind branches across the country, to make a difference in people’s lives.”

Marianne Storey, Chief Executive of Dorset Mind, said: “We’re very grateful for this kind donation – it’s great that people were prepared to forego a cheap joke for a serious subject. Our partnership with The Stable is something I’m very excited about. It’s a great to work with a company founded in Dorset, but who can also support other Mind branches across the country.”

For more information visit dorsetmind.uk