A Wirral dad considered taking his own life after racking up more than £50,000 in gambling debts.
Ben Melvin, from Great Sutton, first started gambling at the age of 14, when he became hooked on the fruit machines at his local leisure complex. The dad-of two funnelled all of his pocket money from his pot washing job into the machines, telling his parents the money was going on bowling and sweets.
Ben's hobby began to escalate in his mid-twenties, when the introduction of online games and apps allowed him to place bets at the touch of a button. An avid football fan, he began betting on leagues all around the world at different times of the day - some teams he hadn't even heard of before.
