A promising university student has died of what doctors suspect to be a case of new variant CJD, the human form of BSE.

Andrew John Carter, 27, of Laburnum Road, Cross Roads, died last Sunday just over five months after doctors told his family it was "clinically provable" he had the new variant strain of the incurable Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD).

This week Andrew's grief stricken family talked exclusively to the Keighley News of their upset at the loss of such a young life.

Andrew's mother, Marilyn, says the death of this "jolly, happy person" from what she describes as a man-made disease is unjust.

She says: "Somebody so young who had their whole life in front of them and so much going for him - he had everything that he wanted and everything had fallen into place for him."

She adds: "It's a very, very cruel disease."

Andrew was a first year, mature student studying a degree in IT networking at the University of Westminster. It was when he returned to Haworth for the summer holidays last June that his family first noticed something was wrong.

Marilyn says: "His balance was off and he was depressed.

"I think we first started to notice things at Easter when we look back. We just put it down to stress because he was stressed with course work. There was a particular module that he just couldn't get his head round."

Andrew's youngest sister, 20-year-old Lynette adds: "That just wasn't in his nature."

Tracey, 24, Andrew's other sister, adds that the normally laid back Andrew was very negative about his exams.

After being prescribed medication for depression Andrew was referred to the Ingrow Centre and then on to Airedale hospital.

He was admitted to the psychiatric ward for two weeks and underwent tests, including a CT and MRI scans. A week later doctors told the family of their suspicions.

Marilyn says: "We were told on the ninth of the ninth, ninety-nine at 4.30 in the afternoon. I can remember the time."

The family decided not to tell Andrew of his condition, instead choosing to tell him he had a virus.

Andrew's father, Ron, says: "That seemed to satisfy him. It's the kind of thing that if you have got it you wouldn't want to know. We knew he was incurable and there was no treatment."

Lynette, adds: "Nothing could be achieved if he had known."

After bringing Andrew home in mid September, his mother promised him he would never have to go back into hospital.

She says: "He hated being in hospital. He kept saying 'When have I got to go back?' and I promised him 'You will not have to go back to hospital'."

While the family tried to keep life as normal as possible, Andrew's condition worsened over time as the disease started to affect his mind and body.

Despite his deterioration, the family Christmas was still an occasion to savour. Andrew was determined to sit at the table for his Christmas dinner.

"At Christmas he was able to sit at the table but then by January 4 we had to have the bed downstairs because it wasn't safe to take him upstairs," says his mother.

She says it was only last Thursday that they stopped getting any response.

While the family are unlikely to ever know for certain how Andrew contracted new variant CJD, they are convinced the links with the BSE crisis are undeniable.

Ron says he is "sickened" by all the attention the beef farmers are getting and their calls for compensation.

He says: "I think the beef industry as a whole has been remarkably insensitive to people."

The coroner's officer at Airedale hospital, Les Scaife, says the post mortem examination has been inconclusive and further tests are being conducted.

An inquest was opened and adjourned yesterday in Bradford and will resume when the tests are completed.

The funeral is at St Michael's Church, Haworth, next Wednesday, at 12.15pm, and is to be followed by a cremation at Oakworth Crematorium.

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