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A schoolboy who died just after Christmas may have taken a contaminated substance he believed to be a recreational drug.
Josh Oliver was taken ill at his girlfriend's house in Saddleton Road, Whitstable, and died later at hospital.
Dad Paul Oliver says his family are still in shock at the death of their son, who had just enjoyed his best Christmas ever and was looking forward to pursuing his life’s dreams.
The 15-year-old former Canterbury schoolboy, from Dargate, dreamed of forging a career in film or the media – until unforeseen tragedy struck.
Dad Paul, 43, believes his son was going through an experimental period in his life and may have bought something thinking it to be a recreational drug, but which turned out to have devastating consequences.
“It is probably to do with something dodgy he took and which his body rejected,” Paul said.
“It may well have come from a bad batch of something. Another theory is that Josh may have had some sort of underlying medical condition, but I doubt it.”
"I hope that no other parent ever has to go through what we have gone through..." - Paul Oliver
As soon as Paul heard that Josh had become unwell, he raced to the house in Saddleton Road and then accompanied him to the QEQM Hospital in Margate.
There he looked on helplessly as medics tried and failed to keep Josh alive.
Paul went on: “That was the most painful thing.
“If one good thing can come of this, then I hope that no other parent ever has to go through what we have gone through.
“If this saves one more child’s life, then it may well be a small good which comes out of it.
“Hopefully, this will shock the hell out of anyone thinking of experimenting with this sort of thing and make those nasty b*****ds on the streets who sell these drugs think twice.”
Josh was a pupil at the Community College Whitstable and had previously studied at Canterbury High in years 7 and 8.
He lived on a five-acre former farm in Dargate, where his family keep animals. He shared the home with his father, step-mother Sarah and his younger brother and sister, Will and Maddie, who are twins aged seven.
He has an older half-brother and half-sister, Alex and Charlotte, who are in their 20s.
Josh’s mother Penny, Paul’s ex-wife, was living in Canterbury but is now staying with friends in Broadstairs.
Paul says that despite some issues with his behaviour in the last year, Josh was beginning to find his feet in the world.
“He had a fantastic Christmas; he told us this was the best Christmas he had ever had,” Paul said. “It wasn’t the gifts. It was the family occasions we had.
“Josh had been an absolute joy to live with, was just so helpful and had just had such a good year.
“He was doing chores around the house and had just had some brilliant school reports and had a positive outlook on his life.
“He had definitely turned a corner and wanted to go into film or media.
"He had just had some brilliant school reports and had a positive outlook on his life. He had definitely turned a corner..." - Paul Oliver
“This has happened so quickly. It’s just a shock, such a shock. We have been inundated with texts and phone calls.
"Josh was extremely well-known and extremely well-liked. He was just a typical teenager, he was a bit stroppy at times, a bit of a Kevin, but we’ve all been like that.”
Paul, who runs a cyber forensics computer security company, and Josh enjoyed an unusually strong father-son bond. Josh called him Dada while Paul referred to him as Ua after the last letters of his name, Joshua.
“He was my rock and my anchor,” he said. “There was a long time when it was just he and I. There were so many happy times and we had some fantastic experiences, especially when travelling.
“We have an enormous amount of happy memories. I am just so proud of him.”
Paul says Josh’s younger siblings are struggling the hardest to make sense of his death.
He broke down as he revealed how Will and Maddie want to remember their older brother.
He said: “They have written little notes which they want to attach to a helium balloon and release into the sky on his 16th birthday in February for their brother to capture in heaven so he can read about how much they love him.”
Police are not treating Josh’s death as suspicious, but are looking into the circumstances of how it happened.
Paul says that pathology tests have so far proved inconclusive and he is waiting for a toxicology report which should provide a more detailed analysis of what might have been in Josh’s system.
He said that rumours that Josh may have been tempted to take the party drug MDMA are “merely speculation”.
“They have not been able so far to establish what this drug might have been,” Paul said.
“I would hope the police investigate the circumstances around it.
“Josh did unfortunately get mixed up with the wrong crowd and there are certain people who will not be welcome at his funeral.”
Police spokesman Scarlet Jones said: “This is not being treated as suspicious but officers are investigating the circumstances.”
Helena Sullivan-Tighe, the head of the Community College, Whitstable, said: “We are deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Josh Oliver.
“He was an able, creative and personable boy who aspired to study film at university. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the Oliver family at this very difficult time.”
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