Ramsey family to do 31-mile trek for son who died from SADS

Tom Petley, from Ramsey, died in April 2022 from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS), where someone dies from a cardiac arrest with no obvious cause being found.

Brother Matt Ladkin, 36, said: “We lost Tom two years ago now.

"I phoned him at half five in the evening, and mum found him when he had already passed away in his sleep.

“I have experienced death, with losing relatives when they’re old, but you never expect it with someone so young."

Tragic - Tom Petley from Ramsey died in his sleep aged 20 in 2022 (Image: Family)Matt said a two-day screening in June this year saw 200 people screened for undiagnosed heart conditions, with 25 going on for further medical appointments.

“These heart screenings are a way of making sure other mothers don’t have to go through what my mum went through,” he said.

Tom was also a member of Tendring Beach Patrol for two seasons, and has a memorial bench in Dovercourt Beach as that was his main station where he was called 'Delta One'.

Last year, beach patrol members took on a 31-mile trek around the Tendring coast, taking about 12 hours to visit every station from Brightlingsea to Dovercourt.

Walk - This year's event has been expanded from Tendring Beach Patrol members to include the family, (centre) Matt Ladkin (Image: Submitted) This year the walk on September 21 has been opened to the public with Matt saying there is “no pressure at all to finish the walk” with a support car being on hand.

The group – which will include Tom’s family and friends – will be fundraising for the Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) charity, carrying flags and wearing T-shirts.

Tom’s dad will be in the support car and hosting a barbecue at the end of trek, with Tom’s mum joining in with the others to do the walk.

All money raised by the walk will go to staging heart screenings in the Harwich area.

To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/walkfortomcry2024.