Bristol charity footy match raises thousands for charity

More than 400 people attended a charity football match in Keynsham in memory of talented teenage sportsman Jack Boulton, who collapsed and died while training.

The event, held at Keynsham Football Club on Thursday evening, raised £6,800 for the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) which raises awareness of and funds for research into sudden deaths among young people from undiagnosed heart conditions.

Jack, who was 17, died in August after collapsing during training with his village team in Saltford.

Saltford AFC beat Keynsham under-18s 6 – 1 on the night.

Saltford AFC manager Chris Dudbride said there were mixed feelings at the match.

He said: "We were all looking forward to it but then it brought back memories of Jack. It was a strange feeling.

"We just wanted to go out to perform for Jack."

Among the spectators were Jack's parents David and June, and his sister Lucy, 16.

They chose the charity which will benefit from the memorial match.

Mr Dudbridge said he wanted to thank everyone who had supported the event or taken part especially Keynsham FC, Saltford AFC, Rotork Controls Ltd of Bath and Carillion plc.

He said: "A big thank you to everyone who had a hand in the event and came and gave their support. It was a really good night and hopefully we did Jack proud."

Every week 12 apparently fit and healthy young people under the age of 35 die from an undiagnosed heart condition.

CRY helps their families come to terms with what has happened and arranges fast-track testing for other family members where appropriate.

The charity has just announced the first initiative in the UK to screen every 14-year-old in the South East of the country. Dr Steve Cox, director of screening at CRY, said: "We are currently screening 1,000s of young people every year aged between 14 and 35. However, this is just the start. We need to know more about what a national screening programme will look like, when it is best to introduce screening and how to make this process as easy as possible for every young person who wants to be tested."

The screening initiative will help to lay the foundations for a national programme in the future. The focus on 14-year-olds is because post-puberty is the earliest age that screening is viable.

Earlier this year, CRY launched a 10-week mobile screening programme testing around 2,500 young people in locations across the UK and 14 were found to have serious cardiac conditions.

Parents, young people, teachers or sports clubs can access CRY's specialist service by logging on to its website at www.c-r-y.org.uk.

Subsidised screening costs £35 per person but will be free of charge for all children born in 1995, starting early next year. Call 01737 363 222 for more details.