Heartbroken Salford dad slams Leeds Festival after son, 16, tragically dies
15.08.2023 - 13:45
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The father of a teenager who died after taking ecstasy at a music festival told a coroner at an inquest into his son's death: "The ticket that signals the death of another young person has already been sold."
David Celino, 16, who was celebrating exam results with friends, died after he was taken ill at Leeds Festival in August last year, an inquest hearing at Wakefield Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday.
His father, Gianpiero Celino, told the inquest of concerns he has for teens at music festivals. He claimed they are prey to drug dealers who act like 'the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'.
Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.
He told the inquest: "The ticket that could signal the death of another young person has already been sold. It's out there somewhere. It's just not been cashed."
Pharmacist Mr Celino, from Worsley, Salford, told the inquest he drove his son David to the festival at Bramham Park, near Leeds, which he attended with a group of six friends to celebrated their GCSE results.
He said he believed the organisers did not do enough to stop drug dealing at the site which, he alleged, took place openly.
Mr Celino said: "We think there's a problem with the availability and provision of drugs at the site. We believe that, as it's currently run, the festival can't be safe for 16 or 17-year-olds who attend unaccompanied."
He said the organisers talk about measures they put in place to combat drug dealing and keep people safe, 'but it doesn't work and David's death is evidence of that'. He described their reassurances as 'theatre rather than facts'.
Mr Celino told the inquest how he and his wife had stayed in a hotel near the festival site