Young rugby player took his own life after saying ‘love you’ to his mum

Cameron Milton,18, suffered a concussion during a game (Picture: Bolton RUFC/MEN Media)

A promising rugby player took his own life after suffering an injury during a match, an inquest heard.

Cameron Milton, who played for Bolton Rugby Club, was found dead by his mum Jo when she went to wake him up for school.

Like every other night, the 18-year-old had gone to bed after saying ‘love you’ to her.

Desperate, she tried to resuscitate him but when paramedics arrived, she told them: ‘He’s gone, I know he’s gone.’

After his suicide, ‘clearly poisonous’ plant material was discovered in his room and behind his bunk bed, and toxicology tests revealed he had died from poisoning.

An inquest heard that Cameron had begun experiencing dizziness, tremors, loss of balance, and heart palpitations after suffering a concussion during a rugby match in August 2021.

Doctors could not find anything wrong with the player despite a number of tests, and advised against a CT scan of his brain because of the risk of radiation exposure at such a young age.

The teenager went to Bolton School and had ambitions to study at Loughborough University (Picture: Bolton RUFC/MEN Media)

His parents had planned to pay for the scan privately, but Cameron told them he did not want them to spend their money.

The inquest was told the Bolton School student was worried about the symptoms and believed he had a heart condition.

The sixth-former was ‘scared’ he would die and even recorded voice notes on Snapchat almost as if ‘in the event of his unexpected death’.

He was predicted high grades in classics, PE and geography, and had ambitions to study at Loughborough University.

But his ongoing medical problems meant that Cameron had missed a number of lessons.

His mum said the Covid-19 lockdown had a ‘massive impact’ on the teenager.

Living in the small village of Edgworth, in Lancashire, he was isolated from most of his friends.

Ms Milton said: ‘He loved being with his brothers and his mates. He was always up for a laugh and he wanted to become a personal trainer.’

According to his mum, Cameron regularly tested his heartrate and blood pressure, which both occasionally spiked to high readings.

She said: ‘One day in early January he came to me upset and crying. He couldn’t speak for half an hour.

‘He said he’d had a full-body tremor. It lasted for two minutes. The next day he went to school and had more tremors. That’s when he started struggling to get to school.’

Cameron’s ex-girlfriend gave a statement to police in which she referred to him
having voiced intentions to kill himself.

In December 2021, three months before he died, ‘he had lost his family dog, one of the greatest loves of his life, and he had been unable to play rugby or go to sixth form’, she said.

Returning a conclusion of suicide, assistant coroner Kate Bisset said: ‘Cameron was obviously a very much-loved son, brother, grandson and friend and his loss is a tragedy beyond comprehension.

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‘He had a kind and caring nature, a bubbly personality and was skilled in
sportsmanship.

‘Cameron was happy, positive and had a bright future. He sounds like a truly wonderful young man.’

After the inquest, his dad Marcus said his son ‘had a smile that lit up a room’.

In a tribute posted on Facebook after his death, the parent wrote: ‘Live every moment until your last. It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my youngest son, Cameron.

‘He is the light of our lives and will forever be that young cheeky kid we have known for the past 18 years.

‘He will forever be in our hearts and will never be forgotten. We ask that we are left alone at this time to grieve .

‘He may not be with us in body but he will always be here in spirit. Good night baby boy from your mum and dad.’

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‘He is the light of our lives and will forever be that young cheeky kid we have known for the past 18 years.’