West Yorkshire father's campaign after wife dies of SADS

  • Video report by Helen Steel.

A father-of-two who found his wife dead at home aged just 31 is calling for heart screening to be made more routinely available.

Dale Lockwood returned from work as a primary school deputy head teacher to find his wife, Ruby, lifeless in bed at their home in Birstall, West Yorkshire.

It was later found she had suffered sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, or SADS, caused by a cardiac arrest with no clear cause.

She had worked as a detective for West Yorkshire Police and had been fit and healthy until her death.

Mr Lockwood, 33, is now campaigning for ECG heart tests to be made available to all under-18s.

He said: "The condition Ruby had, nine times out of 10 can be identified with an ECG, which took five minutes.

"It's too late for us but if something can be implemented to introduce an ECG it might save someone else."

As it is hereditary, Dale says there was a 50% chance his son, four, and daughter, one, could have the condition. Credit: Dale Lockwood

Mr Lockwood had last seen his wife on the morning of her death after she returned from a night shift.

They shared a cup of tea together before he left for work.

He said he was extremely grateful for those last moments together.

"I honestly can't remember the last time we'd had that time, having two young children," he said.

He said her last words to him were "I love you".

When Mr Lockwood returned home that night, he initially assumed his wife was asleep, but knew something "wasn't right" when he saw her.

He rang emergency services, saying: "The, adrenaline and disbelief kick in."

He said telling his eldest son Arthur was "the hardest thing he would ever do".

"He just sobbed, he was only three at the time but he knew" he said.

SADS impacts around 500 people in the UK every year.

After contacting the British Heart Foundation, Mr Lockwood learned of the potential genetic traits of the condition and the increased chances of his children also being carriers.

He said: "If I hadn't done that my children could have been living with a ticking time bomb".

Dale ran the Great North run September 8 in memory of his late wife. Credit: Dale Lockwood

Mr Lockwood has raised more than £19,000 for the British Heart Foundation, recently taking part in the Great North Run - the same event his late wife ran in 2015 - to support genetic testing.

He said: "Ruby spent her whole life and work career helping people so I feel I have got to do something because that's what Ruby would do."

Emily McGrath, senior cardiac nurse for the BHF, said: "If you know what the gene faults are it's easier to diagnose people with these conditions. It also can potentially effect their future treatment options."