Mystery after boy, 9, dies on way back from family holiday

A family has been left devastated after a nine-year-old boy died while they returned home from a holiday.

Freddie Pritchard died unexpectedly earlier this month (September 14) as he travelled home to Wales from Tenerife after a holiday.

His devastated family ‘don’t have a clue what happened’ and are hoping a post-mortem will give them answers.

Freddie’s aunt, Jessica Tomlinson, explained: ‘He was the biggest character, and was so funny – he was always having a laugh.

‘Everybody that met Freddie instantly fell in love with his cheeky smile and mischievous ways.

‘He was the biggest character I’ll ever meet and nothing will be the same without him. Freddie was the kindest little boy and had so many friends.

‘What happened was very, very unexpected. He did not fall ill or anything like that.

‘We have no answers and as of yet we don’t have a clue as to what happened. Fred was the best uncle, his brother had a baby, and he idolised Arabella who was his little niece.

‘He learnt how to swim on his holiday, and was so proud of himself, and taught his mum how to swim too.’

Freddie was a keen football player who played for Gresford Athletic and supported Wrexham and Liverpool.

Jessica says the support from the football community has been ‘absolutely amazing’ with a minute’s silence and applause held in his memory.

An adventurer who loved the outdoors, his school, All Saints School in Wrexham, have planned to plant a tree in his memory.

His family are also planning to install a buddy bench at Freddie’s school because ‘he wanted everyone to be kind to each other and for nobody to be alone’.

A GoFundMe set up to cover the cost of Freddie’s funeral has raised more than £7,000 so far.

Some of the money will also be donated to the Cheshire Ambulance Service, the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Alder Hey Snowdrop suite.

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