A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE who made his fortune by working 18 hours a day told how the lifestyle nearly killed him.

Billericay Town Football Club owner Glenn Tamplin worked such arduous hours for ten years until suffering burnout, forcing him to “lose the will to live” and leaving him considering suicide.

The steel tycoon made his millions by borrowing £50,000 when he was 25, then working that punishing routine for a decade to make the business a success.

But while the digits in his bank account soared, Glenn’s mental health was in sharp decline.

Burnout is a state of chronic stress leading to physical and emotional exhaustion, insomnia, and has links with heart disease, mental health problems, and even feelings of suicide.

The condition, medically recognised since the Seventies, typically has a slow, insidious onset which the sufferer is often unaware of.

Glenn said: “One of the regrets I made in life was putting money before health, and that will never happen again.

“I worked and worked and worked. I didn’t know, but I was making myself ill.

“My mind was too focused on achieving to notice my body and mind were telling me to slow down. Then it was too late.

“When it finally hit me, that was it. I couldn’t get out of bed for something like six months.

“The feeling was a complete lack of direction, loss of the will to live, and loss of belief in myself.”

With feelings of chronic depression, Glenn was checked into a mental health unit in Harlow, to help cope with feelings of suicide.

During the slow road to recovery Glenn vowed to drop his working hours, turned to religion, and felt a calling to serve the community with his heard-earned wealth.

He continued: “There aren’t many feelings out there that can be compared to burnout.

“To be honest, I considered killing myself a few times.

“There will be people out there now who are in a similar place - I want those people to know you can beat it and rebuild your life.

“I began rebuilding by examining my life, I believe we all have a purpose and mine is serving the community to the best of my ability.

“I became a born-again Christian after burning out.

“Of course, not everybody who recovers needs to turn to God, just believing in a higher power can help you achieve anything.”

The Abridge businessman told how he believes helping others is a privilege.

Harry Parker, seven, was born with a rare form of cerebral palsy which meant he faced life in a wheelchair, unless his family could raise £75,000 for a private operation.

The family was working tirelessly to raise money when they came to Glenn’s attention.

Glenn, who took over the non-league club in December last year, donated £50,000 to the family, and thanks to his wonderful gesture, little Harry can walk with a frame.

Doctors believe he will be able to walk unaided in six months.

Now, the ambitious 45-year-old is turning his attention towards a recruitment drive at the club, to prepare it for league football in, he hopes, the not too distant future.

Glenn’s recruitment day hopes to fill 65 jobs with the brightest prospects from the area.

He said: “The growth of the club has made it necessary for me to make this investment.

“This is about providing jobs to the town, helping people meet their potential and bettering themselves.

“We’re giving the club a huge makeover.

“We’re looking for stewards, ball-boys, bar staff, the whole lot.

“This is about building up the club and building up the community.

“I’m also going to have local pastors coming to the club twice a week, to try and help people who need guidance or advice.

“I’m in a position where I can help people with the money that I have, and I want as many to benefit as possible.”

Glenn began steel company AGP in a small yard in Romford in 2002, and the flourishing company is now turning over more than £500,000 a week.

The recruitment event is on Friday at 4pm at the AGP Arena, Billericay.

For more information about the recruitment drive, email info@billericaytownfc.co.uk or call 01277 652 188.