The family of Bradley Holder are seeking answers after an ambulance failed to turn up and 15 hours later he was dead (Picture: BPM)
Detectives are hoping medical tests will provide answers to the ‘unexplained’ death of a 19-year-old man from Staffordshire.
It is now 11 days since Bradley Holder, a former pupil at the Ormiston Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, passed away at a house on High Lane, in Burslem.
He was pronounced dead at around 9am on Monday December 19 – 15 hours after dialling 999 for an ambulance that never came.
Following news of his death, tributes have poured in from locals and people in the community who knew him.
Teresa Barrett said: ‘I taught Brad in year four. He was a lovely lad with a big heart who made me smile many times.’
Kerry Pedley said: ‘Brad was a top lad. I’ve known him for years and he always had time for people and always had a smile.’
And Kaash Johnson added: ‘What a lad you were, Brad.’
Tributes to Bradley have poured in as detectives hope postmortem tests will shed light on his ‘unexplained’ death (Picture: Google Maps)
Staffordshire Police had called in the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following Brad’s death. The IOPC has now concluded its investigation without any further action.
A police spokesman said: ‘The death continues to be treated as unexplained while we await the outcome of a post-mortem examination and toxicology report. A file is currently being prepared for HM Coroner.’
A spokesman for the ambulance service said they were experiencing long handover delays at hospitals when the original 999 call was made on Sunday evening, and had nearly 80 other calls of the same category waiting to be dispatched.
A loved one of Brad’s told WalesOnline the family had been left ‘broken’ by his death, just days before Christmas.
They said: ‘He was one of the nicest lads you could ever meet. He was just a lovely, lovely kind-mannered lad. We are heartbroken.’
Anyone who saw Bradley before he passed away should call the police on 101 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
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Bradley Holder, 19, died of unknown causes 15 hours after calling for an ambulance which never came.
