Mural honours young football fan in heart campaign

A mural dedicated to a 20-year-old football fan who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest has been unveiled in Hammersmith, west London.

Libbey Peverall, from West Drayton, died in her parents' home in February 2023.

"Her life was taken suddenly from us and there's no answers as to why," said her brother Charlie Peverall.

Twelve murals paying tribute to young football fans who have died of sudden cardiac arrest have been unveiled across Britain as part of a British Heart Foundation (BHF) campaign calling for more research.

The murals feature the phrase "England 'til I died" and coincides with the start of the UEFA Euro 2024.

Mr Peverall, 31, said his sister was "one in a million".

"We had the closest bond that anyone could ever ask for," he told BBC News.

"She would go to all of the football games with me," he said. "She loved Jack Grealish, he was her favourite player."

Ms Peverall, who was an aspiring beautician, ended up getting a Chelsea season ticket.

Recounting the day his sister died, Mr Peverall said: “I noticed I had three missed calls on my phone from my mum.

"I rang her back and she said, ‘I think Libbey’s had a heart attack’."

He said he remained on the phone while paramedics worked on Ms Peverall and shouted "is she breathing mum?".

"But she wasn’t," he said. "I told my mum to tell Libbey I was coming to be with her.

"I got straight in the car. In my mind she was going to be OK. But as I was driving there my dad called to say they couldn’t save her, and she’d been pronounced dead.

“Libbey was my only sibling and when she died it was like I’d lost half of my body – I just felt really incomplete."

The BHF is calling for more funding into research to understand the causes, and find cures, for sudden cardiac death.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, Chief Executive of the BHF, said: "Too many lives are being taken too soon by sudden cardiac death.

"No-one should have to experience the loss of their child, sibling or parent, but sadly that is the cruel reality of heart disease – it doesn’t discriminate."

Ms Peverall's mural can be seen on the corner of King Street and Holcombe Street in Hammersmith.

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