Burnley home transformed into the 'big blue house' to help people come up with ideas to boost their mental health

For Scott Pickles has painted the exterior of his Brunshaw home in bright blue!

And while he chose 'Infinity Blue' to make the property stand out and look bright and cheerful, Scott hopes the bold statement will also be a catalyst for people to think about what they can do to improve their own mental health and wellbeing.

"Even just decorating a room in your home can change your mindset in a positive way, " said Scott.

"As we come out of lockdown I believe that so many people are going to struggle with their mental health due to a range of issues including job losses and marriage breakdowns.

"Doing something positive, no matter how small, can be a fantastic way to improving how you feel. It may seem like a small step but what a huge difference it can make."

It took construction worker Scott (45) four days to complete the paint job and when he posted images of his handiwork on social media he was overwhelmed with the positive response.

He said: "The response has been great, the colour is to signify bright blue skies and something uplifting to help people feel more positive about the future."

A champion of mental health issues, in July last year the construction worker built himself an army of followers after taking part in the 25 press ups for 25 days' challenge.Scott, who has struggled with his own mental health problems, completed the challenge – to raise suicide awareness – the standard way when he was first nominated in May.

However, when he was nominated a second time he decided to "spice things up" in order to make more people sit up and take notice.

Scott completed his first set of 25 press-ups atop Ingleborough (723m) while carrying a 50lb backpack.

And more than a dozen friends joined Scott for the final day of his 25-day Pendle Hill challenge

For the next 24 days he continued waking up at 4am to venture up Pendle Hill, in all conditions, with an ever increasing load on his back, where he would complete his 25 press-ups next to the trig point.

The only day he didn't make it up Pendle was on Day 21 when he instead hiked 19.5 miles from Pen-y-ghent (694m) to Whernside (736m) carrying more than 70lb.

And he made the headlines again later in the year when he launched the 'Pendle Hell' challenge with his pal and Burnley Express news editor John Deehan.

In an incredible feat of endurance the duo walked up and down Pendle Hill non stop for 24 hours to raise £6,500.

And the money raised went to Burnley based PH7 charity to fund free mental health counselling for a year for 111 people.

The duo are planning the second Pendle Hell challenge for this year and for 2021 they have invited teams to take part too.