A YOUNG anxiety sufferer from Halesowen is aiming to raise £20k for a cause close to her heart.

Megan Stevens first suffered from anxiety aged 14 and it got so bad she began feeling like she couldn't go to school.

By moving from Earls High to Cherry Tree Learning Centre in Dudley and having counselling Megan, who works in the office at Huntingtree Primary in Halesowen, is now living life to the full.

The avid rugby fan wants to help others in the same situation and has started her own campaign called Rugby Talks.

She has already raised more than £10k for the charity Young Minds UK by auctioning off rugby memorabilia.

Megan now wants to smash the £20k fundraising mark and is appealing for people to visit her Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/Megan-Stevens2

Megan, aged 20, said: "I am passionate to get my message out there, that it's ok to not be ok and it's ok to ask for help.

"Mental health does not discriminate.

"I don't want anyone to feel as bad as I did.

"At my lowest point I wondered if it was all worth it. Now I want to make a difference.

"Mental health is one of the biggest killers in the UK, one with the most stigma surrounding it and yet the least talked about."

Megan, whose Rugby Talks campaign is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rugbytalks1?lang=en-gb, said she didn't have any friends as a teen and felt lonely, but now has lots and enjoys attending rugby matches at Harlequin F.C. in London most weekends with her dad Craig.

She said: "Things are better now, I'm going to work.

"It's one of those things that never goes away, but you learnt to deal with it better."

Among the items Megan has auctioned off was an England rugby shirt signed by Joe Marler which fetched around £500.