Dad of teen who died at Leeds Festival sends out warning

David Celino, 16, died after he was taken ill at the festival in August last year, an inquest heard earlier this month.

As thousands of people prepare to attend the event this weekend, David’s parents Nicola and Gianpiero Celino urged parents to talk to their children about drugs.

David Celino (Image: PA)

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mrs Celino said: “I think we were a little naive, you know, we’ve come from a background where we’ve not really experimented ourselves and it would have been good to have had more frank conversations with him about it.”

Mr Celino said: “If I could say one thing to (parents) it would be ‘sit down and have that conversation’.

“But most people who go to these festivals go as a group. It’s really important that that group prepares for what might happen if things go wrong.

“In David’s case, what happens if you run out of alcohol? Are you going to be tempted?

“People are going to befriend you who seem like they’re cool festival people that you want to associate with but actually they’re trying to groom you, they’re only interested in selling you drugs and actually one of the most dangerous things you can do is to take that step.”

The inquest in Wakefield heard that David had gone to the festival, which attracts more than 90,000 people every summer to Bramham Park, near Leeds, with five friends from their homes in Worsley, Greater Manchester.

Leeds Festival (Image: T&A)

He became ill after taking ecstasy, which his group bought from a dealer in the Camping Plus area of the festival, and died after being taken to hospital in Leeds.

Mr Celino told the inquest of his concerns that unaccompanied youngsters are left prey to drug dealers who operate like “the child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” due to lax security.

On Friday Mrs Celino told the BBC: “The whole thing about 16 and 17-year-olds is that what they’re trying to do at festivals is breaking the rules. If they’re trying to get alcohol they’re breaking the rules.

“That could hold them back from talking to people who could help them because they’re worried about what parents will say, what a doctor might say, and they shouldn’t be afraid.

“They need to just go and talk to somebody and not delay.”

Melvin Benn, the founder and organiser of Leeds Festival, told BBC Breakfast he had listened to Mr and Mrs Celino and was taking extra steps this year, including counting how many 16 and 17-year-olds are on site, increasing the number of contact points in the campsite and staffing them with people “not in authority”, as well as having sniffer dog searches at all campsite entrances.

Mr Celino said he felt reassured “to some extent” by the new measures, but added: “All of the things that Melvin’s explained are happening at this year’s festival were put in front of the coroner as part of the inquest in order to help the coroner decide whether they should issue a prevention of future deaths notice.

“The coroner still decided to go ahead with a prevention of future deaths notice and will issue it in due course, and I think that’s because despite those reassurances, it’s the second time that same coroner’s had to do this and I don’t think he’s satisfied and certainly we’re not satisfied that we’re doing enough until everyone comes home safely from these festivals.”