Ash
Ash's childhood was turbulent to say the least so it was not really that much of a surprise when his parents announced that they were splitting up
| Fact title | Fact data |
|---|---|
| Played by | Luke Bailey |
With his dad wanting nothing to do with them, Ash and his mum Kim moved into a cramped council flat. Kim assured him that it would be a temporary measure but ten years on and they still live there.
But Kim has always been determined to make the best out of every situation for her son. She saw that Ash was getting frustrated so she encouraged him to play football, hoping that it would distract him from his dad abandoning them. To Ash, football was the only thing that he excelled in and wanted to stick at. His determination soon paid off when he was scouted at 13 and he celebrated his 16th birthday by signing a professional contract with Cardiff City FC.
But a terrible tackle left his knee ligament completely torn. Ash was told he’d be out for six weeks but six weeks turned into six months and Ash still wasn’t responding well to treatment. Finally, his coach delivered the devastating news; they wouldn’t be renewing his contract. Kim was mortified for her son. Without football, Ash believed that people would slowly start to see the real him – a loser and a lowlife.
Intent on keeping the negativity at bay, Kim enrolled him into a college but it wasn’t long until he was bunking off to the pub with the other dropouts. Soon drinking turned to drugs as Ash found that all his crippling anxieties disappeared when he was high.
Kim begged Ash to turn his life around but her disappointment just made Ash’s depression worse and he frequently ran away from home. The last straw for Kim came after she found him on a park bench, uncontrollably crying with a bottle of pills in his hand. Kim had no choice but to arrange for him to be sectioned which broke her heart.
The psychiatric unit encouraged Ash to keep a diary and attend group counselling sessions which seemed to work. Kim took time off work to be there for him and for the first time in a long while, Ash could open up to his mum. The doctors were encouraged by his progress and he was released.
Now, Kim is even more determined to give her son some purpose in life. She’s got him a work experience placement at Coopers Outdoors and he is at least willing to give a shot. When he walks into Coopers he believes that there is nothing that anyone can do to save him, but is that all about to change?
