The heartbreaking story behind a mural that has appeared in Cardiff

A new mural has been revealed on Cardiff's Womanby street in memory of a teenager who died just a week before he got his GCSE results. Jake Pickford was just 16 when his heart stopped in his sleep on August 15, 2018.

The teenager from Abertysswg, near Rhymney, was discovered in his bed by his older sister Chloe, who was 19 at the time, when she went to wake him up with a sandwich she had made him. An inquest at Newport Coroners' Court concluded that Jake had died as a result of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) and a conclusion of death by natural causes was recorded.

Jake was an aspiring football player, and had just secured a space at his local college to study sports. He sadly never got the chance to play for Wales as he had always hoped to.

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The mural of Jake has been unveiled by the British Heart Foundation Cymru as part of a campaign to highlight the loss of young people under the age of 35 to sudden cardiac death. Jake's family, Mam Gaye, Dad Paul, sister Chloe and brother Alfie, are all backing the campaign. For the latest health news, sign up to our newsletter here

Reflecting on the day that Jake died, his sister Chloe, said: “Mam had recently gone back to work as nurse in Merthyr Tydfil. She was working a half day that day so it was just me in the house with my two brothers that morning. I was 19 at the time and Alfie was only eight.

“As it was the summer holidays, Jake had stayed up late playing on his Xbox, so the next morning when he hadn’t woken up or come downstairs I really didn’t really give it much thought. It wasn’t unusual.

“Mam came home around lunchtime and I went upstairs to wake up Jake, but as I soon as I went into his bedroom, I saw his arm was hanging over the side of the bed and it was a strange colour. I immediately knew there was something wrong and shouted for Mam to come in.

“As soon as Mam saw him I think she knew he was gone. I rang 999 and we shouted down to Alfie to say downstairs – we didn’t want him to see what was going on.

"The call handler said we should try to find the nearest defibrillator and we knew there was one at the working men’s club in the village. I ran to try and get it and banged on the door, but it was locked inside and there was no one there. I went back to the house and we had to try and get Jake out of the bed so Mam could start CPR. It felt like a lifetime before the emergency services arrived, but it was probably just minutes.”

A postmortem following Jake's death found no underlying condition, which has left the family with many questions that have been left unanswered. Chloe continued: "Nearly six years on we are still really struggling as a family. It’s been particularly difficult for Mam and Dad because they just worry that the same thing could happen to me and Alfie. In 2022 I began suffering with anxiety and panic attacks, My heart used to beat so fast because of the panic attacks I thought it was going to stop.

“Jake and I were very close, despite fighting like cat and dog like siblings do! I really couldn’t wait for him to get older, so he could pass his driving test and we could go out in the car together. I looked forward to going out drinking and socialising with him when we were older. We’ll never be able to do that now. Jake would be 22 this November and I can’t help wondering what sort of young man he would have become and what he would have done with his life.

“We have all struggled with our mental health and we just really take each day one at a time and keep going. That’s all we can do. We find it really hard to plan for tomorrow, because for Jake, tomorrow never came.”

The family are backing a campaign from the British Heart Foundation which keeps Jake's memory going. BHF Cymru is making an urgent call for more funding into research to understand the causes and find preventative cures for sudden cardiac deaths. According to BHF Cymru, many cases can be attributed to inherited heart conditions, however some, in Jake's case, can affect seemingly healthy people.

Chloe continued: "Even though it’s so difficult talking about Jake, as a family it’s so important for us and especially to do things like this campaign for BHF. This is what keeps his memory alive and it keeps us going. We will never get any answers as to why Jake died and why it had to happen to hims. When you hear stories of family tragedy happening, you never expect it will happen to you.”

The BHF is leading the way in cutting edge research and innovation into heart and circulatory disease and sudden cardiac death with several groundbreaking studies across the UK and further afield. The charity’s £30 million CureHeart programme – the most ambitious research grant in the medical charity’s history - aims to develop the first cures for inherited heart muscle diseases.

Led by Professor Hugh Watkins at the University of Oxford, a team is developing revolutionary gene therapy technologies to target the genetic faults that can cause these conditions. In another study, Professor Elijah Behr at St George’s, University of London, is hunting the genetic clues behind unexplained cardiac arrests, but BHF Cymru says more needs to be done to prevent the heartbreaking reality for 12 families every week.

Rhodri Thomas, Head of British Heart Foundation Cymru, said: "Too many lives are being taken too soon by sudden cardiac death. No-one should have to experience the loss of their child, sibling or parent, but sadly that is the cruel reality of heart disease – it doesn’t discriminate.

“These powerful murals serve as a reminder of the young football fans that have been snatched away by sudden cardiac death, and we want to thank the families who have kindly agreed to share their stories.

“The BHF is already carrying out groundbreaking research to treat and prevent the causes of sudden cardiac death, but there is still more to do. We now urgently need donations to help us fund more lifesaving research to prevent other families going through this heartbreak.”