THE family of a cricket-mad youngster who collapsed and died from an undiagnosed heart condition while playing with pals have been honoured for their charity work.

Mark and Emma Bennett, from Poole, lost their son, Toby, when he was just eight years old.

Unknown to everyone, he had been living with the silent killer arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), thought to be the second most common cause of sudden death in the young.

Toby, who was set to follow in the footsteps of his dad and older brother Jamie who both rep-resented Dorset as cricketers, was playing football with friends when he collapsed at Poole’s Dolphin Sports Centre in 2002.

Medics were unable to save the youngster, who was affectionately known as the Mighty Atom.

But in a bid to create a lasting legacy, Toby’s family worked to establish a cricket academy at Poole Town Cricket Club, and organised an annual Toby’s Day – a cricket match played at Poole Park.

To date, this charity match has raised £50,000 for the academy and a further £50,000 for the Wessex Heartbeat charity, an organisation dedicated to supporting the cardiac centre at Southampton General Hospital.

This charity funds revolutionary equipment, specialist research, offers spot health checks as part of a healthy heart campaign and supports Heartbeat House in Southampton, which, in turn, provides free accommodation for cardiac patients’ relatives.

Mark and Emma were presented with the Cherida Ann Patchett Award, for significant contributions to Wessex Heartbeat.

Emma said: “We were really touched to receive the award. It is not just Mark, Jamie and me, there is a whole team of other people who help, and it is very much down to them that the day is such a success.

“Toby was a big cricket fan, and we thought doing a cricket-orientated event would create something fitting in his memory and something that will live on through the coaching of other children.

“This award is something we are proud of. We have been totally overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from friends, family and our local community.

“Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to raise the money that we have.”