The first image of a schoolboy killed during Storm Malik has been released as tributes pour in for the nine-year-old.
Jacob Gallon, from Longton, Stoke, died from injuries sustained when he was struck down by a falling tree on 29 January. It was the day winds reached up to 80mph in parts of the UK, causing devastation and further killing a 60-year-old woman in Scotland.
Jacob, a pupil at the Gladstone Primary Academy, was on a pheasant shoot in the Staffordshire Moorlands when the tragic incident occurred. He and a 72-year-old man were both injured as the tree came down at Heath House – a 400-acre estate where Jabob is said to have “loved” shooting pheasant “almost every weekend”.
The pair were swiftly taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital, but Jacob was later pronounced dead after doctors exhausted all efforts to save him.
Friends and family have now launched a GoFundMe in Jacob’s memory, which has been shared with the permission of his devastated parents who were reportedly still too upset to speak to local media on Tuesday.
Appeal organiser Sarah Thrusfield said she had set up the page to raise money for Jacob’s parents and siblings.
“His passing came as a massive shock to not only his loved ones, but hundreds of family, friends, teachers and people who didn’t even know him,” Ms Thrusfield wrote.
And she added: “RIP beautiful boy, you’ll be sadly missed.”
One of the messages on the page came from a parent of a child who attended the same boxing club as Jacob.
“Dylan’s dad from Ten Count Boxing [here],” he wrote. “[Jacob was a] great young lad who sparred with Dyl a number of times. Sending all our condolences and wishes.”
Staff at Ten Count Boxing, in Bentilee, have also paid tributes to the youngster, with owner Max Maxwell saying “he was a very nice lad”.
He told StokeLive: “When we found out what had happened, it was very sad. It seems surreal, we couldn’t really believe it. Everyone at the club is devastated.
“I just want to send our best wishes out to his family … Grief is very hard to deal with, if they need anything from us, or want to come and use the gym, or anything like that, it’s there for them.”
As of 6pm on Tuesday, donations for Jacob’s family totalled £1,125 of a £2,000 goal.
“Please only give what/if you can afford and let’s try to show this beautiful family a bit of love and support,” Ms Thrusfield told those visiting the page.
