A village community is being asked to rally round in memory of a tragic young man and support a charity which could have saved his life. 

Andrew Parr, from Woodplumpton, was an apparently fit and healthy 21-year-old when he died suddenly and unexpectedly on April 12, 2004, after his heart went into arrhythmia. 

Now his mother Ruth is campaigning to raise £7,000 for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) to bring the charity's mobile screening unit to Preston so that young people of the city can be given an ECG (electrocardiogram) test which can detect abnormalities of the heart. 

Every week at least eight apparently fit and healthy young people die of undiagnosed heart conditions in the UK. 

As part of her fund-raising Ruth is organising a coffee morning in conjunction with Inglewhite Church at the church on Saturday, May 6, from 10am to noon. 

Andrew and his fiancé Gemma had been looking forward to getting married in November 2004 and had been working hard on their future home.  He was very excited about their forthcoming marriage and had everything to live for. 

Health wise, everything seemed to be fine and Andrew rarely had cause to visit the doctor.  However, two to three weeks before his death Andrew complained of having indigestion and said the discomfort felt like an air lock and had occurred after eating, but was eased on taking antacid medication. 

This, apparently, may have been his first heart attack - the pathologist found that Andrew had suffered two heart attacks two to three weeks before he died. 

On the day he died, Andrew had spent the day with friends at their home.  He'd had lunch with them, but had refused a second helping of cake, saying he had a touch of indigestion.  Less than 12 hours later Andrew's heart went into arrhythmia, causing his sudden death. 

CRY is campaigning for screening to become mandatory when young people have their vaccinations at school.  If Andrew had been offered the chance of being screened, his condition may have been diagnosed. 

Admission to the coffee morning will be £1.50, including a drink and a cake.  There will also be homemade cakes, bric-a-brac, fresh produce and hand crafted cards for sale and a car wash and treasure hunt. 

Pastor of Inglewhite church Mike Faun says: "Please come and support this event at Inglewhite Church to help CRY raise money for the mobile screening unit to help our young people of Preston." 

Besides the screening programme, CRY funds a centre for sports cardiology at the British Olympic Medical Institute, raises awareness of cardiac risk in the young, supports medical research into young sudden cardiac death, donates medical equipment to doctor's surgeries and hospital units and counsels and supports affected families.