AN ambitious man is on a quest to get a date with Hollywood A-lister Drew Barrymore to thank her for ‘saving his life’.

Adam Hitchcock, who works at WHSmith in Tavistock, has set himself the task to get a date with Drew as part of a huge fundraising challenge for mental health charity MIND.

Adam, 28, suffered with severe mental health issues during secondary school, forcing him to have to leave school to go to rehab for several years. He credits reading an article by Drew Barrymore opening up about her experiences with mental health issues with turning his life around.

He is now on a mission to get a date with Drew Barrymore to thank her personally, has given himself a target date of September 3, 2019 and will document his journey by video journal.

Adam is under no illusion that he may not meet Drew but he hopes to raise lots of money and awareness for MIND on his journey.

At the age of 13/14, Adam suffered with ‘intrusive thoughts’. He said: ‘It is quite a serious condition. I was feeling suicidal and I became quite uncontrollable and trying to act on those suicidal thoughts. I ended up going to rehab for about four years in total. I personally don’t think I would have gone through with it, I think it was a cry for help. When you feel like that you don’t want to go to your family or friends for help because you feel embarrassed. It is a very misunderstood condition. To this day I don’t know what made me better but I believe Drew helped me.

‘It was around this period in my life where I read an article in a magazine about Drew Barrymore’s past troubles. I felt that from Drew I gained a new sense of strength that helped me pull through.

‘After reading about all the negativity that she went through in her childhood, I realised that if she was able to pull herself through that, then I could do the same myself. After four years I did manage to make it through and to this day I still believe that without Drew’s story and the inspiration I found in it, I would’ve struggled to make it this far and actually become a better person in the process.’

Adam is planning to go to LA with his husband James to try to find a way of getting hold of Drew and to thank her personally for being his inspiration and a light during some dark times. He is unsure how he will go about it yet, but plans to visit radio stations, TV stations and look around LA itself trying to find a way to contact her.

The challenge is just as much about the journey as it is about actually meeting Drew Barrymore. He has set himself an ambitious target to raise £10,000 for MIND and hopes to raise the profile of the charity and awareness of mental health issues.

‘I’m not doing this to get fame or money for myself,’ he said. ‘Anything I raise will go to MIND. Whether I succeed or not, I don’t know, but I hope it will show to everyone that if you want something you should go out and get it. It’s a big quest but one I feel I need to do. Everyone has been very supportive, especially my family — they think what I am trying to do is brilliant.

‘It would be absolutely amazing to be able to thank Drew personally. She is probably unaware that she has changed someone’s life. If I don’t get to meet her then at least I know I have tried. It’s more about the journey, inspiring others and raising money for MIND.’

Adam will document his challenge by video journal and plans to make it available to everyone to see with any further proceeds going to the cause as well.

Anyone who would like to support Adam in his £10,000 target can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thankyoudrew