Twenty years after the death of their teenage son, a Workington family have joined a campaign to try and save other youngsters from early deaths. 

Craig Dixon (left), who was tipped for sports stardom, was just 14 when he collapsed and died without warning on a training run on March 14, 1985, and the family now knows that his death was probably preventable. 

Ten years after Craig’s death, his parents, Barrie and Pauline Dixon, of Infirmary Road, discovered that their son had been born with a heart defect that had gone undetected and his involvement in competitive sport at a high level was sooner or later going to kill him. 

Today, the national charity CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) is trying to get the message across that young people, and especially those who are seriously into sport or other high-energy activities, should undergo medical tests to make sure that they do not have a hidden cardiac defect. 

And to help spread the message, CRY is to publish a book called 101 Reasons To Get Up In The Morning, which has contributions from public figures from all walks of life, from Tony Blair to Daniel O’Donnell. 

In the UK, an average of eight apparently fit and healthy people under the age of 35 collapse and die of undetected heart conditions every week. 

In the USA, teenage sports prodigies routinely undergo detailed heart examinations.  In Britain there is no such NHS provision in place.  Tests can be carried out by those who are prepared to go private.  But what CRY want is a national system involving portable testing equipment that will screen young sports stars. 

At 14, Craig Dixon stood 6ft 2in tall and was playing as a midfielder for Workington Reds Reserves as well as holding county titles for the 100 and 200 metre sprints.  He nursed an ambition to become a physical training instructor with the RAF but professional football may have been his calling as he was being watched by scouts from Newcastle United. 

Mum Pauline said: “The clock was ticking with the level of sport that Craig was involved in but we didn’t know it.  When we finally got hold of a copy of the autopsy report and discovered that Craig had a genetic problem which meant a heart valve was seriously thickened, we felt relief that at least we knew what had caused his death. 

“It was an action that would have been detected through blood tests and other procedures.  We are involved with CRY, who know what is needed and know what the problem is.  It now needs someone in Parliament to shout out the message and get a screening programme in place.” 

101 Reasons To Get Up In The Morning will be in Workington’s Derwent Bookshop, Finkle Street in November.