Chris Mitchell, right, took his own life in May 2016

The family of a footballer who took his own life have spoken out about their loss in the hope of raising awareness of mental health in the sport.

Chris Mitchell died in May 2016 aged just 27 when he was hit by a train near his family home in Stirling.

A foundation has been set up in the former Queen of the South defender's name and his dad, Philip, hopes it can help "dispel the stigma" in the game.

"It's there and it's a big issue," he told BBC 5Live.

"It's not a weakness that people pre-judge when you make a disclosure. It's a genuine illness and we have to talk about it and give people the best help."

'He started to distance himself'

A former Scotland Under-21 international, Chris had enjoyed a successful football career.

Starting with Falkirk, he went on to play for Ayr United, Bradford City, Queen of the South and latterly on a part-time basis with Clyde.

After suffering a series of injuries and presented with the chance of full-time employment in 2016, he made the decision to call time on his playing career.

"He wasn't playing at the highest level he'd like to play at, the conclusion was he would finish football in January 2016 and take up full-time employment outwith football," said Philip.

"It's a huge change in life, I can only imagine, from playing professional football going into the ordinary working environment.

"I was anticipating there would be signs of a difference in Christopher but nothing that was going to transpire in the end."

Chris' girlfriend, Louise Rooney, added: "He started to distance himself from his football friends and people he'd met through football.

"He'd make excuses not to see them. He'd just want to be with me, the dog, the family. He was just withdrawing from things you'd expect him to do or want to do."

Chris Mitchell was capped by Scotland at Under-21 level

'Chris didn't make that second appointment'

However, the following year the family grew concerned over Chris' wellbeing as he struggled with depression and anxiety.

Two weeks before he took his life the 27-year-old was admitted to hospital while also confiding to sister Laura he had been having suicidal thoughts.

"We spoke to him and we proceeded to go down the doctor route and speak to someone there," said Louise.

"He attended an appointment with a psychologist. They gave him medication and he was due to see the psychologist for a second time but this was scheduled for after he had taken his life.

"He didn't make that second appointment."

On the morning of 7 May 2016, with Louise in London, dad Philip visited Chris at the flat he shared with his girlfriend of a year.

"He was very anxious," explained Philip.

"His dog India, a black lab, had got out of the house and he just couldn't make proper decisions and was very anxious and upset. With Louise being away things were just spiralling out of control then and I got my daughter and wife up and I went looking for the dog.

"Christopher managed to slip out of the house."

Louise explained she received a phone call the morning of the tragedy.

"I was in the hotel down in London having breakfast with my friends when I received a phone call from him," she said. "To be honest I did not expect that it all.

"I'd been speaking to him all night before, he seemed fine. He'd bought the dog toys and sent me pictures of them both sitting on the couch. Everything seemed fine. The next morning I contacted him as I hadn't heard from him, I texted but he hadn't responded for a couple hours and I assumed he was busy, out walking the dog. And then I received a phone call."

Former Clyde manager Barry Ferguson pays tribute to Chris Mitchell after his death

'More could be done in Scotland'

Two years on and Chris' family have found comfort and purpose in the foundation which carries his name.

Working alongside the SPFL Trust, the Chris Mitchell Foundation works on promoting and campaigning for awareness of mental health issues in the sport and improving services to those within football.

"We started speaking to the players and I have to say speaking to his colleagues we thought more could be done around mental health in professional football in Scotland," said Philip.

"We spoke to people over the coming months who were very good to us and put us in touch with the right people to get enough information and support getting people together to go about this and the foundation was set up.

"We've got Mark Fleming, who's head of sports chaplaincy in Scottish football and director of positive mental health in Scotland who delivers a two day course and it's taken off."