A Littlehampton mother whose son died aged just 24 has backed a new national campaign to raise awareness of the 'staggering' number of young people dying from a heart condition, writes Roger Green.  

Veronica Thorn's son, Ben, died in 2001, the first of three tragedies to devastate he family in just 18 months, in which she also lost her other son Gary, 30, followed two weeks later by the death of her husband Tony, 50. 

At Westminster last week, Mrs Thorn joined MPs and a national charity to highlight the shocking statistic that 12 young people are losing their life every wee3 as a result of sudden cardiac death, 50 per cent more than previous estimates had shown. 

Cardboard silhouettes were a powerful symbol of the tragic death toll, while a giant postcard featured the photographs of 12 real-life cases, including Ben's, of young people from London and the south-east who have died suddenly from previously undetected heart conditions. 

The nationwide awareness campaign was launched by the charity Cardiac Risk in the Young, following new research showing the true extent of sudden death among people aged 35 and under. 

"It's astounding," said Mrs Thorn, of East Street, "and yet, not enough money is being put into research into the causes of these deaths and how they can be avoided." 

She backed CRY's call for greater access to cardiac testing, especially for young people involved in sport at grassroots level, in a bid to detect conditions that might otherwise go unnoticed. 

Ben and Tony Thorn were working together on the family business, Skylark Cruises, running trip boats on the River Arun between Littlehampton and Arundel, at the time of Ben's death. 

"He was a fit, young man, a qualified skipper, and he had taken a party of schoolchildren up the river on the day before.  He was enjoying life, and we were not aware there was anything wrong with him. 

"That night he went to bed at the place he lived with a friend in Hove, and never woke up."

Ben died from a condition known as Long QT syndrome, a common cause of sudden cardiac death. 

Mrs Thorn believes that Ben's death may have been a factor of the death of her eldest son, Gary, from a brain tumour 18 months later, and the loss of both sons broke her husband's heart.  Tony collapsed and died on a landing stage at Arundel two weeks after Gary's death in March, 2003. 

"You go back to work, eventually, but family life is never going to be normal again," said Mrs Thorn, who said her four grandchildren, with another one the way and daughters Paula Mott and Cheryl Seaman helped to keep her sane. 

With her daughters, she has raised funds for CRY and supported the charity, which is delivering copies of the postcard to all MPs, and has launched a giant petition signed by sports personalities including Tim Henman, Andrew Flintoff, Paula Radcliffe and Ian Botham to keep the issue high profile.