Hearts were racing for Houghton Regis spin-a-thon to remember Jake

Sarah Pyatt, 51, held the sports challenge in memory of her son, Jake Gallagher, who passed away aged just 16.

The most likely cause of Jake’s death was Brugada syndrome, a rare inherited heart rhythm disturbance,but since there is no law for the compulsary screening of children, Sarah is on a mission to provide schools with defibrillators.

Sarah said: “We raised £700 for The Sudden Adult Death Trust (SADS UK).

“It was really good - I did four and a half hours of spinning and my family came too; Jake would have loved it!The spin-a-thon was held on January 28, the nearest Sunday to Jake’s birthday on the 30th.”

The family were not aware of Brugada syndrome until they went for screening after Jake’s death and his father was found to have the condition.

Sarah said: “On Jake’s birthday we had fireworks and sent rockets up - they went so high! We also sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and had a cake.

“I do something every year but I wanted to mark this milestone. It’s sad that Jake’s not here.”

Sarah would like to thank Go Houghton, Houghton Regis Leisure Centre, everyone who donated or bought tickets, the ladies who did all five spinning sessions and instructors: Will Grant, Lisa Faulkner, Sandra Sanderka and Haydon Littlewood. She would also like to thank Advance Catering Group for all their support.

Now her son Leo, 11, is selling SADS charity merchandise at All Saints Academy.

If you would like to help raise the spin-a-thon total to £1,000, search ‘Help a Heart for Jake’ or ‘Sarah Beer’ on Facebook in order to donate.