Students to get free heart screening at Bedstone College after pupil's mum raises £5,000

The money will mean that 100 students studying at Bedstone College, which is based on the Shropshire-Powys border, will have their hearts tested for any potential cardiac problems.

Jayne Ward-Lucey was inspired by Sue Dewhirst from St Martins, who raises funds for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), after her son Matthew died from an undiagnosed heart problem at the age of 17.

Matthew was playing rugby at Ellesmere College when he collapsed and died of Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome in 2012.

Mrs Ward-Lucey, whose son Charlie attends Bedstone College, has been on a mission to raise cash for the cause.

Her efforts have been boosted by Reconomy, an outsourced waste management company from Telford, which donated a significant amount raised from a staff raffle during the firm’s recent summer family day.

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Mrs Ward-Lucey said the testing would provide reassurance, and could even lead to potentially life saving treatment if required.

She said: "If I can get 100 students to come and be tested then we will know that they are safe. I am just a mum thinking that we have got a remote school where they are quite a distance from the hospital so it would be really good to provide this testing.

"The chances of finding anything is very rare but if there is a problem identified through this then the child can receive potentially life-saving treatment."

Mrs Ward-Lucey said that heart problems for younger people are often overlooked due to the assumption that the condition only affects older people.

She said: "Heart disease and heart attacks are always associated with old people and this is the whole point of CRY. Our young people should not be suffering with undiagnosed heart problems."

Official figures show that every week in the UK at least 12 young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions.