Mother of disabled fan who died at RockNess begged him not to attend

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 22:47

THE mother of a disabled music fan who died after an asthma attack at the RockNess festival said yesterday she had pleaded with her son not to attend the annual rock event because of her concerns about his health.

James Smith, 22, a champion bowler who suffered from brittle bone disease, was rushed by ambulance from the festival site at the village of Dores to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness on Saturday afternoon after becoming increasingly ill. He died three hours later.

He was the third person to die at the annual rock festival in the past three years.

Yesterday his mother, Susanna Farley, an orthodontic nurse at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin, revealed that she had asked her son, who had battled his brittle bone disease to become a champion bowler, not to go to the festival because of fears for his health.

Mr Smith had a major asthma attack a year ago but was determined to lead as normal a life as possible. Mrs Farley said: "It was so hard to let him go but he always lived life like that. We have always been positive. That is why he achieved so much in his life."

His father, Andrew Smith, a funeral director from Forres, spoke of how his son's "strength of character" had helped him battle against his disability to become a talented bowler.

He had recently been tipped as a potential member of the Scottish team at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Seven years ago he became the first wheelchair-bound competitor to take part in the final stages of a mainstream world contest at a championship event in Belfast.

In the same year he was crowned junior singles champion in the Australian Championships. Two years after that, at the same tournament, he collected the singles, men's pairs and junior singles title.

Mr Smith, of Newfield Road, Elgin, also helped Scotland win the Home Counties International Series in 2004, 2006 and 2007.

A Northern Constabulary spokeswoman said he became ill shortly after arriving at the RockNess venue with a friend around noon on Saturday.

He was treated by on-site paramedics and was taken to Raigmore Hospital at 4pm, where his condition rapidly deteriorated. He died at 7pm.

She explained: "He had a pre-existing medical condition and there is no indication of any suspicious circumstances contributing to his death. A post mortem may be carried out to confirm the cause of death."

Chief Superintendent Andy Cowie, the event commander, said: "It is a very sad time for the young man's family and friends and our sympathies are with them at this time."

The festival, which began four years ago, attracted around 35,000 fans and there were few arrests. Acts included Basement Jaxx, Orbital and The Prodigy.

Meanwhile, a massive clean-up of the festival site, expected to take up to a week to complete, got underway yesterday.

Chief Supt Cowie said: "From a police perspective, we are very pleased with the way the festival has gone and that's a reflection on the months of planning between the various emergency services, helping the organisers to make this as safe and secure an event as possible."

BRITTLE BONE DISEASE

OSTEOGENESIS imperfecta (brittle bone disease) is a genetic disorder which results from abnormalities of the genes that control the production of a protein called collagen – the main protein in bone and essential for its strength.

It is the most common disease causing fractures in childhood and also causes fractures in adults. In both sexes the fracture rate diminishes during the teenage years and remains low in adult life.

There is no drug treatment for OI. The main treatment consists of orthopaedic care to ensure that each fracture heals in a good position.