The parents of an 18-year-old who died after falling 70ft while on his first holiday abroad with friends are launching a safety campaign for teenagers to try to help prevent similar tragedies. Thomas Channon, from Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, was celebrating finishing his A-levels in Magaluf in July, 2018, and decided to return to his hotel alone after a night out with his friends.
He fell from a raised walkway seven storeys high, which had just a knee-high wall for protection, at Eden Roc apartment complex near his hotel. He was the third person from the UK to die at the complex that year, and his accident came just five weeks after Tom Hughes, from Wrexham, also fell to his death from the walkway.
An inquest found Thomas Channon's death "could have been prevented" if appropriate measures had been taken following the previous accident. Over the past four years, Tom's parents John and Ceri Channon have fought hard to ensure ensure such a fatality never happens again. You can read all our stories about the Vale of Glamorgan here.
Following their campaign, the wall was made safer, and a new training programme was approved for British consulate staff to improve both the safety of holidaymakers and support for bereaved families. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will test the measures of the new scheme and make adjustments in the Balearics this summer, before it is rolled out to other resorts.
John and Ceri are preparing to launch their third campaign - called Stay Aware, Stay Safe, Stay Together - in their son's legacy. It will see a bilingual package of resources distributed to all schools and colleges in Wales to give advice to young people heading on their first holiday abroad without their families.
Tom's parents created the educational package in conjunction with St David's Catholic College in Cardiff, where he was a student, and it has been supported by the Welsh Government. It will form a mandatory part of the curriculum in Wales and will also be shared on the government's Hwb platform.
The package is designed to be a 45-minute session, in which sixth-form students will be shown a series of videos, including interviews with Tom's parents and some of his closest friends. Another video gives common holiday scenarios and advice on how to enjoy trips safely. The aim is to facilitate discussion primarily among the young people themselves. After pilot sessions were run at St David's Catholic College, John said he was "bowled over" by the enthusiasm of the students.
"They wanted to participate. They said they couldn't understand why something like this wasn't there before. They thought it was useful and, of course, they all came up with other ideas," he said.
Tom's parents will officially launch the campaign on Wednesday, June 15, at the college. John explained the timing of the launch was "absolutely essential" for "maximum impact", as it came just as young people were finishing their exams and thinking of going on their first independent trips. But he added the package was "flexible" and could be included in the curriculum at other times in the year, and could also be shown to younger years. The couple also hope to introduce the session into the curriculum in England as well, and then Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Explaining the importance of the package, John said: "It will hopefully now help to make others a bit safer, making both young people and parents aware that there are dangers - things that you just might not expect, because you think things will be done and safety measures will be taken."
Ceri added that she hoped the campaign would mean no other family would have to go through what they'd had to live through "on a daily basis". She said: "I'm sure that parents are going to receive this with open arms. Because it's the first educational package that is actually mandatory within the curriculum that's going to make those young adults realise, actually, these things can happen and it's not a case of 'my parents are being over protective'.
"For the youngsters, I hope it makes them realise, by seeing it through the eyes of somebody just like them - Tom and his friendship group and young people in the videos - that Tom didn't ever think this would happen to him. We educated Tom as to the safety issues abroad, and it still happened. Some things are unavoidable. We don't want to send young people away with a message of doom and gloom. Of course we don't - we want them to have the best time of their lives. But what we want them to do is to come home."
The pair say the campaign is "Tom's achievement". Ceri said: "His brothers have achieved so much and he would have done the same. That is my real passion, that this is Tom's legacy. He would have achieved it in life, and we're trying to lead now in his name." To get more stories like this sent straight to your inbox every single day, click here.
