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'I feel like he’s with his dad now': Powerful mural remembers teenage Wolverhampton footballer

A Wolverhampton teenager who suddenly passed away in 2023 has been featured - and celebrated - in a beautiful mural.

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Talented footballer Myles Christie, 15, from Wolverhampton, played football from an early age but tragically suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in 2023 - exactly eight years to the day after the death of his father, Alden, from the same condition.

At the time of the tragedy his brave mum, Hayley, 38, admitted that she no longer 'wanted to be here' after losing her husband and son and being left in a state of shock having to explain to her youngest, Carter, that he could no longer see his older brother.

Fast forward a year and a project, led by the British Heart Foundation, has seen his sparkling self included in a set of murals to memorialise young people all over the country, in a move that hopes to remind people of how many young people's lives are taken by the sudden and otherwise undiagnosed health condition.

His mural is proudly placed in Digbeth, Birmingham, and his brave mother Hayley has visited the art piece in a show of pride and remembrance for her beloved son, who was taken before he had the chance to pursue his P.E teaching dreams.

The mural aims to raise awareness for the condition - which is said to take the life of 12 young people under 35 every week. Photo: British Heart Foundation

Speaking on the tragedy, she said: “Initially I didn’t really want to be here. I was in shock. I didn’t want to be a widow or a single parent.

“Looking back now I remember Myles having said to me that he was scared he might die young because of his dad. He was having bereavement counselling.