Football abuse survivor's gruelling 24 hour challenge

A sexual abuse survivor will embark on a 24 hour walk to raise awareness of child abuse.
David LeanDavid Lean
David Lean

Former Preston North End reserve footballer David Lean, 49, from Lytham, previously waived his anonymity after revealing the child abuse he suffered at the hands of a football coach more than 30 years ago.

He was just 11 when he met his abuser on a family trip to a holiday camp at Pwllheli, north Wales, and was later groomed.

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David said: “ This hidden, unspoken subject needs to be discussed.

“Raising awareness with a walk through Lytham to Blackpool over a busy 24 hours will allow thousands to see the topic being openly displayed by a normal guy trying to show its OK to be a survivor of childhood sexual abuse.”

The walk will take place on July 21 from 7pm.

Ahead of the walk, David has organised for hundreds of people from across the UK to Tweet about childhood abuse, using the hashtag #CSASurvivors to ensure the subject trends on social media site Twitter for four hours and encourage debate.

It will commence at 7pm on Thursday, July 13.