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Loved ones of two adult victims of undetected
heart conditions have raised nearly £4,000 to help prevent the deaths of
other young sufferers.
Dad-of-two Pc Luke Rolfe, aged 30, who worked at
Bourneville Lane police station, and Longbridge school girl Alison Linforth,
16, are just two of thousands who have died suddenly when they did not know
they were at risk.
Their friends and relatives want to ensure other
families do not suffer the same anguish as them by raising the cash through
the Luke Rolfe Memorial Trophy football match for charity CRY - Cardiac Risk
in the Young.
Friend and colleague Pc Simon Williams, from
Birmingham South policing unit, said the charity uses money to do heart
tests on young people in the community to diagnose defects.
"It's nice to be able to honour the memory of Luke
to show his family that we still care," said Pc Williams.
"This money will also help other people to
hopefully never go through what Luke and Alison's family's had to endure."
Pc Rolfe was on a family holiday in Florida in
August last year.
While Alison died on her first day at Cadbury
Sixth Form College, Kings Norton, in September 2003.
More than 150 people turned out for the
fundraising football match in Pc Rolfe's honour at the Tally Ho! sports
ground in Edgbaston, in April.
They included the police officer's widow Kath and
sons Josh, four, and Harry two and Alison's mother Eve, from Northfield.
Pc Rolfe, who lived in Hereford, served at Edward
Road and Sparkhill stations, covering Sparkbrook and Moseley, before moving
to Bourneville Lane last April.
Taking charge of the memorial game was former
Premier League referee Alan Wiley. It resulted in an entertaining game
in which Reading beat Hereford 3-2. The event also included a raffle
and charity auction of signed memorabilia.
Sudden cardiac death affects children and young
adults but an underlying inherited condition is often discovered.
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