Boy, 16, died after having allergic reaction to pollen

A mother has issued a stark warning after her son died of an asthma attack as he celebrated finishing his GCSEs.

Joe Dale sat his final exams the day before the fatal reaction and was relaxing with his friends on a playing field on June 17, 2017.

The pollen count was unusually high that day and despite using his inhaler, Joe’s allergies triggered a devastating asthma attack.

After Joe passed out, his friends called an ambulance and he was rushed to hospital.

Despite the doctor’s best efforts his parents made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support machine six days later – the day of his school prom.

Joe’s family, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, are now bravely telling their story to warn others about the dangers of asthma.

His mum Helena Dale, 50, said: ‘I never believed Joe would die, I thought he’d be okay.

‘It’s impossible to put into words what it’s like to lose a child like this, it’s absolutely heart-wrenching.

‘I have had to bury the life I had with Joe and start a new one, a completely different one.

‘If I can prevent another family from going through what we’ve experienced then I have to do that.

‘Most people don’t think of it as a killer but it is, I don’t think most people know.’

Joe was a ‘fit and active’ boy who played football up to four times a week and often went go kart racing with his dad Jon, 48.

He began suffering from asthma at the age of five but only had one asthma attack when he was 12.

Helena said he took a brown inhaler each morning and evening and kept a blue inhaler on him during the day in case of emergency.

The heartbroken family decided to donate Joe’s organs and have since learned they were used to save three other people including a father and a teenager.

Helena said: ‘We knew he would have wanted that, he was such a kind and thoughtful person.

‘It does help to know his death wasn’t for nothing.’

When the GCSE results were released that summer Joe’s family discovered he had achieved great results in all his subjects including some A*s.