Kentish Express Ashford & District
Parents speak of drugs tragedies for school film
Charity showing hard-hitting message to young people
A charity which aims to educate young people about the risks of drug and alcohol misuse has been working with the families of two Kent teenagers who died after taking drugs.
As part of its ‘Think Differently’ project, The Kenward Trust has this year used the stories of Owen Kinghorn and William Horley in a hard-hitting short film which will be shown in schools and colleges across the county.
The scheme, which first started in 2016, helps young people make informed choices when they encounter substances by giving them all the facts they need.
It shares the real life stories of those who have been affected by the devastation misuse can cause.
One family which knows all too well about the wounds that never heal are the Kinghorns who are sharing their experience to help raise awareness.
Owen Kinghorn, from Ashford, was just 15 when he died after taking a lethal dose of MDMA.
The Towers School pupil was found in a field near Great Chart on September 6 last year.
A talented footballer, Owen had played for Kennington since starting out in its under-11 team, but had made the move to Folkestone Invicta last year.
Following his death, the Kinghorns created a JustGiving page in support of the trust which raised more than £5,000.
In the film, Owen’s mother
Rachael describes the moment that changed her world forever.
Mrs Kinghorn said: “He had been back at school a week and he was supposed to be going on a sleepover but for some reason they didn’t do that. They decided to pull an all-nighter and my son never came home again.
“It wasn’t until later on the next day I started to get worried, it was unusual for his phone not to be charged for that amount of time.
“In the end we had to get the police to go out and find him.”
Owen’s grandfather David Kinghorn continued: “They organised a search party and a police constable came round, got details and went off.
“About an hour and a half later there was a knock on the front door.
“I went to open it and there was the original police officer, plus a female police officer and as soon as I saw her there I knew it was bad news because she was there to comfort Rachael.”
Also sharing their heartache is the family of William Horley from Herne Bay.
Kim Webster lost her son, a Canterbury College student, aged just 17 last year, after he took the painkiller Tramadol and fell unconscious, before being rushed to hospital where, tragically, he couldn’t be revived.
Tramadol is a prescription painkiller but is sometimes dangerously used as a recreational drug.
William, a 6ft 6in fitness fanatic, had dreams of joining the Army.
In a bid to warn others of the dangers, Mrs Webster has also been telling her story as part of the campaign.
She said: “You don’t want to think about your mum when you’re out having fun but it’s your mum and dad that will miss you the most.”
“You never move on. It’s something you wake up to every morning.”
‘You never move on. It’s something you wake up to every morning...’