‘It was totally and utterly unexpected’

Felix Lewis, 20

“Kind and gentle” Felix Lewis died after his heart stopped while on holiday with his family.

The 20-year-old was hugely popular and well-loved in his home town of Whitstable, where he had once worked at his aunt and uncle’s clothing shop, Ruskin.

In August 2019, he and his family were on a “perfect” getaway in Croatia. After the “happiest couple of days” they spent the morning paddleboarding, before heading to the beach in Pisak after lunch.

But shortly after diving into the sea, Felix was spotted unresponsive in the water and was pulled out by his mum and dad. Beach-goers helped with resuscitation efforts before the paramedics arrived - but 45 minutes later, his parents were told he could not be saved.

A post-mortem later established Felix had suffered a cardiac arrest due to an abnormal heart rhythm.

Felix’s mum, Diana, said: “He showed no symptoms, so it was totally and utterly unexpected.

“Felix was this incredibly healthy, vital, beautiful young man, who just suddenly just died, in our view for no reason at all.

Felix studied fashion at the University of Manchester “It’s not like he had cancer or something we knew about. “It was just a ticking time bomb, basically, that we knew nothing about.” Diana says the tragic case shows heart conditions “can happen to anyone”.

She is now keen to do “anything that can raise awareness of the condition, and give an insight into why it might happen”. Speaking shortly after Felix’s death, his mum, dad Ben, and brother Théo, paid tribute to him as “a kind, loving, gentle soul who had time for everyone”.

“He was our beautiful boy,” they said. “He was full of life, surrounded by so many friends and a girlfriend he loved.

“He has been taken from us far too early and we mourn the life he should have lived. There is a Felix-sized hole in our family which will never mend. We love you and miss you.”

Felix Lewis, pictured with his mum Diana just a few months before his death in 2019.