by Anna White

A “fearless and beautiful” seven-year-old could not be saved when he collapsed and died at his primary school.

Benjamin Percival’s heart stopped beating after a football game at Loose Junior School, an inquest heard.

Witness Tania Jeganathan, whose son goes to the Loose Road school, said Benji was walking with about 20 other children when he fell face down without putting his arms to break the fall.

His devastated mother Sharon was by her son’s side while a parent who is a GP and the school’s family liaison officer and trained first aider, Shane Turner, battled in vain to save his life.

But her cries of “please save him” were in vain.

The youngster, who was seemingly healthy before he collapsed, was taken to Maidstone Hospital but after trying to resuscitate him for almost an hour-and-a-half, doctors pronounced him dead.

After hearing evidence from medical experts on Wednesday, coroner Patricia Harding concluded that Benjamin, known as Benji, died from sudden cardiac death.

She said the bystanders who tried to resuscitate the youngster, who had previously only ever suffered from mild asthma, had done all that they could.

Dr Mary Sheppard, a cardiovascular specialist, told the youngster’s mother and father Andy, that the rare condition that claimed their son’s life could have struck him down at any time.

At the inquest in the Archbishop’s Palace, Maidstone, coroner’s officer Chris Kemsley struggled to fight back tears as he read a tribute from the Percivals of Copper Tree Court, Loose.

The statement said: “Someone once compared Benji to a firework – so full of energy, so bright and beautiful. A perfect analogy.

“He constantly told us how much he loved us and enjoyed having a lap to sit on, a cuddle and a suck of his thumb. Simply put, our darling boy was our shining star.”

The pupil, who had a passion for playing the guitar and football, especially for the under-8s South Park Colts team, would have celebrated his ninth birthday on Tuesday, January 31.

The official verdict of his death on December 16, 2010, was natural causes.