Mum of tragic Derbyshire teenage boxer describes moment her 'loving' son collapsed in ring

Edward Bilbey, 17, collapsed at the Post Mill Centre, South Normanton, on March 24, 2017, shortly after the three-round bout.

He ‘suddenly’ fell to the floor while waiting for the judges’ decision and later died in hospital despite multiple attempts to save his life, an inquest heard.

Mum Michelle Bilbey told the hearing Edward had seemed fine during the fight but ‘did not look right’ as he and his opponent awaited the result.

"He seemed to turn round to where we were sitting and put his arm out,” she said. “He then collapsed and the referee helped him to the floor.”

Mrs Bilbey said no one seemed to coordinate the response to Edward’s collapse and she recalls the ‘pandemonium’ of the situation in a ‘packed’ venue.

"I just remember screaming ‘has anyone called an ambulance?’”

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She said there seemed to be a delay in calling the ambulance, although within nine minutes of a call the first paramedics had arrived.

Mrs Bilbey said a defibrillator was not used to try to save Edward until the ambulance had arrived.

She earlier told the inquest in Chesterfield that Edward, from Ripley, was a ‘loving boy’ and ‘very family-orientated’.

Mrs Bilbey said ‘all he wanted to do was box’ and even used a picture of a title belt as his screensaver to motivate him.

"Edward was a very disciplined person,” she said. “If he was doing anything it had to be 100 per cent.”

He had started boxing at about the age of 14 with his brother Henry and always trained hard – also taking on a manual Sunday job and finding very little time for rest.

There had been a change in Edward during 2017, Mrs Bilbey said. He had previously trained in bin bags and slept wrapped up in duvets to lose weight, but had now also started taking frequent hot baths.

"He was thinner than I had ever seen him,” she said.

On the day of the match, Edward ate eggs for breakfast but nothing else before weigh-in and was not drinking water.

After his death, experts found Edward’s heart was damaged and there was some evidence of kidney problems.

The inquest continues.

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