THE parents of Matthew Bailey – the 14-year-old Woodroffe pupil who died playing rugby – are helping to launch a campaign to highlight cardiac risk in the young.

Paul and Pip Bailey from Broadwindsor will be helping to launch the major regional campaign at The Holiday Inn in Gloucester today, May 9, to highlight a shocking statistic.

Figures show that 12 young, apparently fit and healthy people are dying every week in the UK from previously undiagnosed heart conditions.

Mrs and Mrs Bailey will unveil a poster-sized version of an emotive new postcard featuring the photos of 12 young people from across the south west who lost their lives to sudden cardiac death to support the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

Mr Bailey said: “We are joining in the campaign to highlight this.

“People just don’t realise that this happens, all too often.

“Even close relatives still don’t realise.”

The Bailey family first became involved with CRY following the sudden death of their son, Matthew, in September 2004. He was 14.

Matthew collapsed and died from a previously undiagnosed heart condition while playing rugby for Woodroffe School in a match at Colyton. More than 150,000 postcards have been distributed by CRY families across the UK in a bid to raise awareness and lobby support among MPs.

Chief executive and founder of the charity, Alison Cox MBE, said: “Our powerful postcard campaign is continuing to help us emphasise the importance of screening and the fact that so many of these tragic cases affecting fit and healthy young people could have been prevented.

“Eighty per cent of these deaths will occur with no prior symptoms – which is why CRY believes that screening is so vitally important.”

CRY’s screening programme now tests around 12,000 young people every year and one in every 300 of the young people will be identified with a potentially life threatening condition.

This month, hundreds of postcards will be distributed by CRY families and supporters to people across the West urging them to send it back to their local MP.

It is hoped the influx of postcards will encourage MPs to add their support to the campaign and join the Cardiac Risk in the Young all party parliamentary group.

Alison added: “We already have huge support from MPs – many of whom have been deeply moved by a death of a young person in their constituency and have pledged to support us in our ongoing work and awareness raising activity.

“However, we are confident that this latest campaign will help us to target those MPs who are not yet aware of our commitment to prevent further needless deaths as well as spreading our important educational messages to parents and young people living across this region.

“I’m extremely grateful to the Bailey family for once again agreeing to lend their support to this latest campaign.”