A charity ball will be held to raise money for a mental health charity in memory of a 21-year-old who took his own life.

Essex Coroner’s Court ruled Luke Reeves took his own life by taking a drugs overdose in April last year.

He was found dead in his bedroom in Copford.

His family accused drug company Roche of being partly responsible saying Luke’s personality drastically changed following a course of acne medication.

The drugs manufacturer denies its product triggers suicide and depression.

Luke’s friend Molly Creegan, 21, of Elizabeth Way, Heybridge, is holding a charity ball in Luke’s memory.

It will be held at the Weston Homes Community Stadium in Colchester on September 29 in aid of charity Mind.

The Night at the Oscars event will include a three course meal, casino, live music, a raffle and games.

Molly, who works in HR, said: “I knew Luke from about the age of 14, so we had been friends for six or seven years.

“We were very close and did everything together. He was one of those people everyone was friends with.

“Everything that happened with Luke had an effect on me and so many other people close to me and it was something which affected our mental health as well.

“My way of coping with my own grief was wanting to help other people, so they don’t have to go through the same thing.

“I decided I wanted to do something but I am not particularly sporty so a marathon wasn’t really on the cards and I wanted something we could all be part of together.”

Ms Creegan said she hoped the charity event would raise awareness of the issue of mental health.

She said: “I want to prevent others having to suffer with mental health problems alone by getting professional help and talking.

“No matter how many people you have to talk to sometimes professional help is needed.

“A lot of men find it difficult to talk about mental health, hopefully this will show people it is ok to talk about it.”

Molly said she turned to Mind after the loss of Luke.

“I suffered a lot from anxiety and I lost my dad a couple of months before Luke, so it was a really testing time for me,” she said.

“I looked at the Mind website for advice and things like that.”

Ms Creegan hopes to raise £2,000 for the charity.

The event on September 29 starts at 7pm and tickets cost £45.

For more information and tickets email mollycreegan@outlook.com.

To donate in memory of Luke visit memoryspace.mind.org.uk/ MyPage/The-Luke-Reeves-Memorial-Ball.