DAD’S DEATH INSPIRE TREK
FORMER POLICE OFFICER’S DAUGHTER WILL CLIMB AFRICAN PEAK IN HIS MEMORY
The daughter of a devoted dad who died suddenly just days after Christmas is scaling one of the world’s highest mountains in his memory.
Hannah Layford, 28, and her family were devastated when retired Northumbria Police officer Tom Layford, 54, died from a cardiac arrest at his home in Broadway Grange, Mill Hill, Sunderland, on December 27.
His wife and partner of 40 years, Gill, 55, a nursery nurse at Mill Hill Nursery School, and their youngest son Matthew, 22, tried desperately to revive the dadof-three.
Though still in shock from the tragedy, Hannah and her partner Mihai-Ionut Firescu, 28, are channelling their grief by training to climb Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro in September.
Tom had served with Northumbria Police for 28 years, receiving many commendations over the years. He became a well-respected detective constable and had most recently played a vital role in the major investigations team (MITs) unit.
Prior to that, he had served with the Royal Navy from the age of 16 to21 and was only recently awarded a medal for his efforts during the Falklands War.
Speaking about the loss of her dad, Hannah said: “We’d had a lovely family dinner that night and me and my eldest brother, Phillip, had only left the house about 15 minutes before my dad was taken ill to drive back home to Gateshead. It was just before the snow came and dad had gone outside to put the frost cover on the car.
“He came back in and told my mum that the cold had hit the back of his throat and he felt a little unwell.
“He sat down and my mum went to get him some water, before he fell unconscious.
“My mum and brother tried to perform CPR on him before the paramedics came. He briefly regained consciousness and told my mum ‘I’ll be ok’, but when the paramedics arrived they were unable to regain a pulse.”
Though Tom was on medication for atrial fibrillation, a long-term condition which caused his heartbeat to race at times, he was not thought to be at risk of a cardiac arrest.
Prior to his death ,he was an active membe rof Houghton Golf Club and had a handicap of just eight.
Former Farringdo School pupil Hannah is ho ing her climb, in which s hopes to raise thousand pounds for the British Heart Foundation, will help fund vital research into the condition.
The social media and marketing consultant said: “Dad was a fit and strong retired policeman of just 54 years old.
“His heart would race rarely because of his condition, but it wasn’t something te.
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“For this to happen to someone like my dad shows there must be a gap in the research somewhere.
“We are all devastated and it’s very difficult to come to terms with, especially for my mum, who had been with my dad since they met at Farringdon School, and my younger brother, who were both with him when he died. This climb is helping to give us some focus through it all.
“We’re hoping that this fundraising will help fund research, as well as raise awareness for other people who have my dad’s condition.”
In preparation for the mammoth climb, Hannah and Mihai, a core medical trainee at University of North Tees Hospital – who is working towards becoming a cardiologist – have been building up their cardiovascular strength and climbing some of Britain’s highest peaks, including Scafell Pike, in the Lake District.
According to the British Heart Foundation, each day in the UK 435 people lose their lives to cardiovascular disease and, of that figure, more than 110 of those deaths will be thea eo