THE HEARTBROKEN family of tragic Gareth Blakely have won praise from a national charity after raising money in his memory.

Relatives of Gareth have been tirelessly raising money in his honour following his death in November from an accidental overdose.

In December The Times told how the fun-loving 23-year-old passed away on November 6 after accidentally swallowing too many prescription pills.

Since their sudden loss his brother Roy, 27, mum Jean, 47, have been raising money for the Scottish Association for Mental Health.

After rasing more than £1,000 charity bosses from SAMH sent the devastated family a token of their appreciation, with a thank-you card.

Addressed to Gareth’s cousin Lynette, who had been spearheading the fundraising efforts, the card read: “Dear Lynette, Thank you for choosing to remember Gareth Blakely by creating an online giving page which has now raised £1056.25 in his memory.

"On behalf of SAMH please accept my sincere condolences for your loss. Honouring the memory of a loved one is so important and we are grateful to you for supporting mental health in this way.

"Your generous gift will help us to do three key things in the next three years: 1. Work with GP’s to ensure people have a greater number of positive choices available locally to support their mental health & well-being.

2. Work tirelessly to reduce the number of people who die by suicide and, 3. Support more people who want to work in meaningful employment.

“Thanks for your help and your donation, many people will experience life changing solutions, more opportunities and better mental health.

“Once again, thank you for choosing to remember Gareth Blakely by making a positive difference to mental health.” Gareth’s brother Roy added: “It was a nice touch to get a card from the people at SAMH and we would like to thank everyone who helped us raise the money in Gareth’s memory.”