A FUNDRAISING walk from Brightlingsea to Dovercourt in honour of a man who died of sudden and unexpected heart failure has raised nearly £3,000.  

Tom Petley, from Ramsey, died in April 2022, aged just 20, from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) - a condition 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."

Remembered - Tom Petley from Ramsey died in his sleep aged 20 in 2022 Remembered - Tom Petley from Ramsey died in his sleep aged 20 in 2022 (Image: Family) Tom was a member of Tendring Beach Patrol for two seasons and has a memorial bench at 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 beach patrol station from Brightlingsea to Dovercourt.

This year 22 people took part in the walk, including Tom’s family.

The group started at 8am in Brightlingsea and finished in Dovercourt for a barbecue at 7.45pm, covering 31 miles in just under 12 hours.

A support car driven by Tom’s dad was in attendance while Tom’s mum joined in with the walk.

The group at Martello beachThe group at Martello Beach (Image: Submitted) Matt said: “We would like to thank all the walkers who each gave 110 per cent.

“Everybody tried their absolute best. Thank you to the volunteers from the support car to the barbecue chefs and to the special cake-maker who pulled out some excellent sponges again.

“I don't think I'll do the next one.”  

Almost £2,700 has been raised for the Cardiac Risk in the Young charity, with the money paying for heart screenings in the Harwich area.

A two-day screening in June this year saw 200 people screened for undiagnosed heart conditions, with 25 going on for further medical appointments.

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

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