I AM asking every parent to read this letter.

My family and I experienced meningitis in May 2003 when my son Gareth, aged 16, was at boarding school.

Gareth called one evening saying that he thought he had burst a blood vessel behind his eye from working hard in the gym and thought he was coming down with the flu.

I told him to see the school nurse and take some paracetamol.

A few hours after that phone call, Gareth died in his bedroom.

We were later told it was from meningitis.

Carrying your son’s coffin into a church is something a parent should never have to do.

Meningitis is a disease which strikes in an instant. The symptoms are so similar to flu that it’s not always spotted on time.

The rash that everyone thinks of does not always appear.

I am asking everyone from the bottom of my heart to familiar-ise themselves with the signs and symptoms – there isn’t a vaccine for every type of meningitis, so our children and teenagers are not fully protected.

Knowledge is your protection.

Please speak to the Meningitis Trust (0800 028 18 28) and get a free ‘signs and symptoms’ card or download their free iPhone app (www.meningitisapp.co.uk).

I would hate for any other family to go through what I have.

I thought it would never happen to me, but I was wrong.

Pete Rowlands, Supporter of the Meningitis Trust, Bristol.