A HEARTBROKEN father plans to scatter the ashes of his sea-loving teenage son on the Firth of Forth after he was killed by meningitis.
Royal Navy Reservist Patrick Clunas was struck down by the disease last week and died in hospital just two days later.
Patrick, from Rosyth, Fife, had joined the Royal Navy Reserves last year after spending much of his childhood in the Sea Cadets.
Family and friends plan to pay tribute to his love of the sea by scattering his ashes from a sailing boat on the Firth of Forth.
Patrick’s dad John, 63, said medical staff at had “tried their best” to save his beloved son, who had been about to start a course to train as a sailing instructor.
Mr Clunas said: “We’re going to scatter ashes in the Forth. We’’ll go out on a sailing boat. He would have loved that, it’s what he would have wanted.
“He really loved sailing. He was meant to be going on a course to become an instructor.”
Patrick, who also worked at Rosyth Dockyard, was rushed to hospital last Thursday after falling ill and complaining of a severe headache.
Despite medics struggling to save him, his condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on Saturday.
Mr Clunas said: “It just happened so quickly He was taken in on Thursday and by Saturday he was gone.“He just deteriorated and they tried their best but he didn’t make it through.”
Patrick’s funeral will be held at Dunfermline Crematorium next Wednesday and his family are asking for donations to be made to the Meningitis Trust and Queensferry Sea cadets.
Symptoms of meningococcal disease can include fever or vomiting, severe headache, stiff neck, drowsiness, dislike of bright lights, and a rash that does not disappear when a glass is pressed against it.
Those who have been in close contact with the tragic teenager have also been offered antibiotics to reduce the risk of the lethal infection spreading further
