Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has strengthened its partnership with the Lighthouse Charity to widen access to mental health and wellbeing support for people working in construction.

As part of the collaboration, Taylor Wimpey has provided a new van to help the charity's team reach more workers across the UK with its message of support.

The charity's #MakeItVisible team visits construction sites to share lived experiences, reduce stigma around opening up, and create safe spaces for conversations. So far this year, the team has visited 506 sites across the UK and Ireland and spoken to 27,000 workers about its free, confidential 24/7 holistic support covering emotional, physical and financial wellbeing.

During these visits, the team has given immediate support to 40 workers who expressed suicidal thoughts, while encouraging many others to take the first step towards seeking help.

Taylor Wimpey already partners with the charity to deliver mental health training for its employees. The van donation builds on this work, underlining the homebuilder's commitment to supporting the construction workforce and tackling the industry's wellbeing challenges.

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The vehicle is a much-needed addition to Lighthouse's touring fleet, enabling the charity to extend its outreach further. To mark the donation, the #MakeItVisible team visited Taylor Wimpey's Bovingdon Grange development in Hertfordshire to deliver a talk to the site team.

Sarah Bolton, CEO of the Lighthouse, said: "We were absolutely delighted to hear the news that Taylor Wimpey wanted to support this vital initiative in such a huge way. Having an additional vehicle to reach out to our front line trades means so much. It will allow us to extend our message of support even further and ensure that our workforce and their families know about the help available, and how to reach out for that support.

"We know that this initiative continues to make a life changing and a life saving impact and we're honoured to have Taylor Wimpey on board, thank you to everyone that has helped make this happen."

Rose Sandell, Group Communities Director and Chair of Taylor Wimpey's Charity Committee, said: "The health and wellbeing of our employees is vitally important and the Lighthouse Charity is doing fantastic work in raising awareness of the free, confidential support services available to construction workers who may need it.

"By reducing stigma and encouraging people to talk about their mental health, the charity's #MakeItVisible campaign is making a real difference, and I hope the donation of a new van will help them to reach even more people who may not know where to turn.

"A number of our site teams have already benefitted from a #MakeItVisible visit and we look forward to welcoming the charity to more of our developments soon."