The sudden death of a Wilmington teenager prompted a charity football tournament on Sunday (May 31) in his memory.

Keen footballer Jack Thompson was 16 when his heart stopped whilst he was staying with his cousin just days before Christmas, on December 20 last year.

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Boys from Jack’s football club, Hayden Youth Association, and his school, Wilmington Grammar School for Boys, competed in a seven-a-side league to fundraise for a defibrillator at the weekend.

Whilst hosting the event, the football club unveiled a memorial plaque with Jack’s picture, and re-named their astroturf pitch after him.

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Darren Thompson, Ben Thompson, 19, and Emilia Thompson, 6, with Jack's plaque

Jack's mother, Llara Thompson, said of her son's death: "It just turns your life completely around.

"Your life’s not quite the same anymore.

"This is the most tragic thing you could ever think of happening to someone."

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Jack Thompson

Hayden Youth Association is holding a cardiac screening day on June 20 with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity.

For just £35, 14-35-year-olds can be tested for heart abnormalities, which may pose a particular problem in elite athletes.

Ms Thompson said: "As a parent, I would take my child to one of these events if I knew it was going on.

"£35 is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

"Jack was perfectly fit and healthy, he was very sporty.

"There was nothing wrong with him whatsoever.

"I think all young children should be screened."

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Paul Beedle, Hayden Youth Association committee member, said: "We want to raise money for the defibrillator and we hope it never, ever gets used.

"But if we could avoid just one death it would be worth it.

"The defibrillator we would want is about £1,400.

"We are working with the British Heart Foundation, to get a grant to make it publically available."

Mr Beedle, who has two sons playing for the club, added: "We just want to keep Jack’s memory alive. It really hit the club hard.

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"He was a very popular young man.

"The players will all be Jack’s friends, they will all be people he played with.

"I did know Jack very well because my son’s in the same year.

"It’s still very raw.

"Jack was such a lively, energetic, robust boy, full of life.

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"It’s made it even more of a shock because he was so full of energy and full of life."

Click here to find your local cardiac screening day or to donate to the charity.

Email beedley@me.com to register for the June 20 event.

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