Mural to boy, 14, who died of sudden cardiac arrest

The mural in Newcastle remembers promising young footballer Taylor Atherton

A mural of a 14-year-old boy who died of sudden cardiac arrest has been unveiled to raise awareness of the condition.

Taylor Atherton, from North Shields, a promising young footballer who dreamed of playing professionally, died in 2016.

The mural in Ouseburn, Newcastle, features the message "England 'til I died", to draw attention to the issue during Euro 2024.

Taylor’s mum, Elaine Burnett, said her son "lived and breathed football".

She added: "Taylor’s funeral was packed. It was a testament to how many lives Taylor had touched in his 14 years."

His mural is one of 12 to be showcased across the country as part of a British Heart Foundation campaign to draw attention to how 12 young people under the age of 35 die from sudden cardiac death in the UK each week.

'I knew he was gone'

Ms Burnett remembers vividly her last moments with her son.

She said: "We had dinner and I said goodnight to Taylor and went to bed. That was the last time I ever spoke to him."

The next morning, Valentine's Day 2016, Taylor's four-year-old sister Megan discovered him unresponsive on his bedroom floor.

Taylor’s family set up the Taylor Atherton Foundation to help fund community defibrillators

Ms Burnett phoned for an ambulance who talked her through CPR.

"I carried on, even though I knew he was gone," she said.

Paramedics shocked Taylor’s heart with a defibrillator, but the family were told he had died.

It was later discovered that Taylor’s left coronary artery had not developed correctly, stopping the heart from working properly and leading to the cardiac arrest.

He was a "massive" Newcastle United fan, like his dad, and they started going to games together when Taylor was six, Ms Burnett said.

Taylor, who dreamed of playing professionally, had a trial for Newcastle when he was in secondary school and started training with Middlesbrough's Academy in the months before he died.

The British Heart Foundation is calling for more funding into research to understand the causes of sudden cardiac death, and find cures.