Relatives of tragic young soccer star Jonathan Leigh got active to raise money in his memory for heart charities.
Jonathan (inset), of Ackworth Road, Pontefract, died suddenly aged just 20 from a rare heart condition in September 2005.
The former King’s High School and Pontefract New College student was a keen sportsman and played for many local football teams including Ackworth United, Pontefract St Joseph’s AFC, Wakefield Disrict Juniors, Pontefract Collieries FC and had just signed for Winterton Rangers when he died.
Since then his devastated family have been raising money for two heart charities: Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) and Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), which has a Jonathan Leigh Memorial Fund, which the family plans to use to fund a screening day in Pontefract to try and detect and prevent heart problems in young people.
His sisters Nicola, 18 and Rebecca, 15, took part in a 5km run in Leeds with their cousin Mark Thompson, 21, and his girlfriend Louise Matthews, 21, from Headingley Stadium to the Leeds Metropolitan University campus.
Nicola said: “It was quite an emotional day, but we did it for Jonny. We managed to raise more than £400 between us, which will go towards a screening day, which we hope to organise this year. We want to prevent this from happening to other families.”
