KILLED FOR BEING A HERO

Kristy Freckleton, 43, lost her son the day before his birthday

- CANDICE FERNANDEZ

Hearing a knock at the door, I opened it to see my son, Oliver, then 18, with a big soppy grin on his face. Before I could say anything he blurted out an announcement. 'You're going to be a grandma,' he beamed.

'Oh my God!' I shrieked, tears of happiness forming in my eyes.

It was Autumn 2020, and as we were midpandemic I couldn't even hug him, but as his dad, Rob, then 48, came to the door to join in the celebration, we all chatted away with excitement about the new arrival.

We were so happy for Oliver. Yes, he was young, and some mums might not have been so thrilled that their teen was going to be a dad, but I really thought this would be the making of Oliver - especially as he hadn't had it easy over the years.

As a child he'd always seemed to struggle with sensory overload - growing up, he refused to sit with other kids in preschool and would clamp his hands on his ears at loud noises.

FUTURE HOPES

Aged 11, after years of assessments, he'd been diagnosed with high-functioning autism, ADHD and learning difficulties.

We'd got him into a specialist school by 14 and there Oliver finally flourished. He loved fishing and playing football with his brother Charlie, who was three years younger. Then, after finishing school, he'd started a job in a local shop.

'I'd love to work with animals one day," he'd tell me. He was such a kind and caring young man, I'd no doubt he'd be great at whatever he set his mind to.

Then, in early 2020, he met his girlfriend, Gemma*, at a party. Things moved quickly, and now, we had baby news to celebrate.

It was all we could talk about over the next few months and in June 2021, their beautiful daughter, Ava*, was born. Oliver absolutely doted on her and we all joked that she already had her daddy wrapped around her little finger.