The grieving dad of a man who had his 'whole life ahead of him' said his son appeared 'happy' before he would later take his own life. The devastated family from Kirkby-in-Ashfield had "no clue" that Sean Lynk, aged 30, was struggling with his mental health before the tragedy, which happened shortly before Christmas last year.
Sean's dad, Graham Lynk, has opened up about the "worst day of my life" when his son first failed to turned up to work. "We both worked together, and, on that morning, I wanted to see him and he was not there. I tried ringing him several times, work tried to ring him as well. I knew something was amiss."
The 65-year-old rushed to his son's flat in Mansfield with his wife to see Sean's car parked outside, and his door locked on the inside. The police were also called.
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Heartbroken Mr Lynk added: "I had no idea what it was. Police got in, and now I thank God I never got through the door because I would have seen him. The police came out and said he is dead. It is a shock to this day, and that is how it went basically.
"Both me and my wife burst into tears. I could not stand still. It is the worst moment of our lives by far. We zoomed out and when we came back, we went to sleep on the floor with a photo of him."
Sean moved into his new flat in Mansfield only two days before his death. He was working at Keyline Civil Specialists in Nottinghamshire, alongside his dad, a former coal miner of 30 years.
The last time when Mr Lynk spoke to his son was on the Monday night, just before he took his own life. Mr Lynk added: "He came on Monday night because he had a day off to collect his clothes for Tuesday. That is the last I have seen of him.
"There was no indication of any mental health issues or anything. He was happy, he always loved his job, he loved his mum and dad, he loved his dog. This is such a shock to us and we could not, and still not understand why. And we will never get over it All we could think of is mental health. We had no idea, he was so happy."
He continued: "We went to the bank - he had no debt. He owed no one any money."
Mr Lynk described his late son as someone who "loved life and travelling". He added: "He loved everybody and anything. That is even worse for us because we never had a snippet if he had any issues.
"I have always said to him, if he has any problems including financially to come to me. He never asked for anything. He had his whole life ahead of him - he was a young, six foot six handsome lad who loved life."
Some of his passions included football and travelling. Sean earned a football scholarship at a college in Kansas, USA, after completing his A-levels. He then returned home and worked as a community coach for Mansfield Town Football Club, who were "deeply saddened" to learn about his loss.
He then went to Australia for a couple of years, and returned to Mansfield, "working his way from the bottom to the top" and becoming a salesperson negotiator at the same workplace as his dad's. Mr Lynk described him as man "loved by many", who was considering starting a family one day.
Around 400 people attended Sean’s funeral at St Wilfrid's Church in Kirkby, which was followed by a burial at Kingsway Cemetery, Kirkby. Mr Lynk added: "You could see when he was walking into the room. He would walk the place up. He was that kind of lad."
The devastated dad, who still struggles to sleep due to his heartbreak, added: "We find it hard to sleep at night. I wake up at 2am in the morning and go to bed thinking about him."
He has since built up a legacy in Sean's name, aiming to raise awareness about men's mental health. Lee Anderson, the Conservative Ashfield MP, paid tribute to Sean in the parliament.
Addressing the House of Commons on January 12, Mr Anderson added: “No-one saw it coming, including his parents Julie and Graham, who are obviously devastated as are the rest of the community.
“Male suicide is now one of the biggest killers of men under 40. Graham has promised to dedicate the rest of his life to his son, raising awareness of male suicide and suicide across this country.”
Mr Lynk added: "I am getting email and texts from people that I do not know across the country, who had the same experience. Some of them have never left the house. Some of them have turned to drink. We decided we are not going to do that.
"We will never make some good out of what happened to my son, never. Until the day I die, he is going to be on my mind. But I am going to try and help other people."
*The Samaritans run a free 24-hour phone line on 116 123 for people experiencing a range of problems, and also has a website with further details.
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