Community remembers man who died in balcony fall

A football tournament has raised money in memory of a rugby player who died when falling from a balcony in Spain.

Freddie Pring, from Somerset, died at the age of 20 after falling from a balcony at a four-star beachfront hotel at a holiday resort in Majorca in June 2019.

The Freddie Pring Memorial Fund, set up in his memory, hosted a five-a-side football tournament in Minehead earlier, to raise money for sports coaching.

Heather Pring, Freddie's mother, said: "When Freddie was lost, we came to understand just how much he had given back - supporting people in the community through sport and mental health, quietly making a difference in the lives of others."

Freddie was on a three-day trip with a Bristol-based firm when he died. The all-expenses paid trip had been put on as a thank you for meeting company targets in 2019.

The Minehead Barbarians rugby player was reportedly staying at the resort with friends who were asleep at the time of the fall.

He was found on the ground and treated by the emergency services, but died at the scene.

Somerset Coroner's Court later concluded his death was accidental.

From that loss, a mission was born, Heather said.

"The Freddie Pring Memorial Fund was established to continue his legacy," she added. "We raise funds to support others in the community, just as Freddie had done, and ensure his name lives on in the causes he cared about."

The fund mainly raises money for sports coaching to improve people's mental health. It also raises money for local sports teams.

Heather said football was a "natural choice" for the fundraising event, as it was a sport Freddie loved.

"The atmosphere today reflected everything he stood for," Heather added.

The event will last into the evening, when there will be live music and food.

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