THE parents of a popular rugby player are aiming to raise the profile of a little-known condition which led to the death of their son.

Tom Parsons, from West Heslerton, died while on holiday with friends on the Greek island of Zante in August 2016.

The 22-year-old suffered from myocarditis, which is inflammation and damage of the heart muscle.

His parents, Nick and Sue, who set up the Tom Parsons Trust to support the local community, have now met the research team into the condition at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London.

Sue said: “It was a very emotional day as we met other parents who had lost children as well.

“The team there were just amazing and were very supportive. They showed us the research work they are doing and eventually hope to have a blood test available to test for myocarditis.”

The disease usually affects otherwise healthy people and, while there are various causes, it is usually caused by a virus and accounts for thousands of sudden deaths each year.

Sue said: “Tom was a fit and healthy young man who loved playing sport and there were no obvious signs. Myocarditis is a very poorly-understood illness and we need to raise its profile so it doesn’t happen to others.”

The Tom Parsons Trust has so far raised more than £14,000 and has now provided five defibrillators in the area, the latest at Tom’s former school, Norton College and The Croft in Malton, where Sue works and Tom had connections with community members.

The others have been installed at West Heslerton Village Hall, the Derwent Arms in Norton and Royal Oak in Malton.

Sue said they were grateful for everyone’s support. The Norton College defibrillator was bought by York businessman Wayne Dixon, owner of Nu U Nutrition, a food supplement company, who has kindly agreed to commit to a further four defibrillators over the next four years for which we are very grateful. We wanted the defibrillators at key locations where they could be easily accessed when needed.”

Sue said they were continuing to raise funds for Tom’s trust and research into myocarditis and were organising a summer ball at York racecourse on June 23. We will be having live music and an auction and we are delighted that Professor Federica Marelli-Berg, one of the team at St Bart’s, will be attending to speak about myocarditis,” she said. A further fundraising event will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend when Phil Marwood and James Sherry, from Smartflo plumbing and engineering in Malton, where Tom worked, and Jon Newsome, from Monkbridge Construction, will be swimming two miles in Loch Lomond.

Sue said: “We would like to thank everyone involved in Tom’s trust and everyone who helps us.

“This is a legacy for Tom and a way of giving something back to the community.”

Anyone who would like tickets for the summer ball should phone the Royal Oak in Malton on 01653 692122. To sponsor the Lock Lomond swim, go to justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jon-newsome