THE sudden death of 24-year-old Adam Lewis left his heartbroken family and friends with many unanswered questions as they struggled to come to terms with the tragedy.

While time will not make the loss of a loved one any easier, his family and close friends have channelled their grief into raising awareness of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome.

Half-brother Neil Lewis, who grew up in Old Hall alongside Adam, said: “He never had any issues, complaints or illnesses and he was fit and healthy.

“He never smoked, he didn’t drink excessively and he never took drugs.

“There was never anything to suggest there was some kind of issue. It was a massive shock to the family when it happened. 

“What we have been through and continue to go through has been horrendous – our lives changed dramatically.

“Six months before he died he bought his first house with his girlfriend. He had a great job and he finished his apprenticeship. 

“He was highly thought of by his employers and everyone who knew him adored him. 

“As much as it’s awful for the family, no-one should have their life cut short like this.

“If we can stop this from happening to some other poor person then that’s what we want to do.”

Adam, who was working for Unilever at the time of his death, was 20 minutes into a flight to Barcelona with a colleague when tragedy struck in June 2014.

“He said he didn’t feel well and passed out. He never woke-up,” said Neil, 37.

“As it was a short-haul flight, the plane didn’t carry a defibrillator – but they have since changed that.

“They made a crew announcement to ask if there was a doctor or nurse on the plane. 

“They administered CPR to try to revive him but they couldn’t.

“The plane carried out an emergency landing at Gatwick. Paramedics were waiting on the runway but they couldn’t revive him.”

Adam’s parents discovered the heartbreaking news when police knocked on their door.

Shortly after, Neil was informed of his brother’s death.

He said: “It was surreal. I had to ask them to say it again.

“I couldn’t comprehend it because it was like ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ It was a complete and utter shock.”

It later came to light that the family would never have the answers they desperately hoped for.

“Experts couldn’t find anything but it’s really hard to detect a problem in a heart which isn’t beating,” said Neil, from Appleton.

“The hardest thing for us is that we will never know why his heart just stopped and couldn’t be started again but if he had a heart screening they may have found something.”

This inspired the former Penketh High School pupil’s family and close friends to set up The Adam Lewis Effect.

In the past three years, more than £50,000 has been raised to fund screening days in Warrington and support the work of the British Heart Foundation.

Earlier this month, the Warrington Guardian launched a campaign to help prevent more families from suffering the heartache of sudden cardiac death.

Every week in the UK, around 12 young people under the age of 35 die suddenly from a previously undiagnosed heart condition. 

For more information click here or for more about The Adam Lewis Effect click here.