The heartbroken dad of a 17-year-old boy who was killed "almost instantly" when he was electrocuted told an inquest he was the "life and soul of the party".
Luke Bennett was struck by 11,000 volts when a metal pole he was holding above his head touched, or made close contact to, an overhead power line as he played with his mates at Euxton Villa FC in Chorley. Before the tragedy, Luke had spent the day, on March 6, 2021, having a kickabout with seven of his friends.
At around 6pm three of the boys - Luke, Lewis Geszke and Ben Wilcock - began "messing about" with a metal pole used to separate the subs bench from the pitch, Lancs Live reports.
READ MORE: Liverpool fan, 6, dies surrounded by family as mum issues heartbreaking promise
As they tried to straighten the pole a huge current surged through the metal and threw all three teenagers to the ground. Luke, an AFC Fylde youth footballer, initially stood up after the shock but his horrified friends watched on as he then collapsed to the ground.
Lewis and Ben were unconscious for a short period before waking up to see CPR being performed on Luke. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and a doctor Luke's heart had "completely stopped" and he was pronounced dead at around 6.48pm.
An inquest which started on Tuesday (May 23) and is due to conclude today, heard that Luke's heart had been damaged to such an extent, and with his friends being warned not to touch him until emergency services arrived, that he had little chance of surviving.
At the outset of the inquest, being held at County Hall in Preston, Luke's dad Thomas bravely took to the stand to describe his son who was a talented footballer. He had spent time at the academies at Blackburn Rovers, Burnley FC and Preston North End before starting to play for AFC Fylde as a winger.
Mr Bennett told Area Coroner Kate Bisset: "His personality was really quite infectious. He was very out-going and was riding a bike before you were supposed to. He just got on with things."
Mr Bennett, who himself was a former professional footballer for Wolverhampton Wanderers, described how despite only really getting into football at the age of 13, Luke immediately showed promise and also excelled at other sports including tennis, trampolining and swimming.
He continued: "It was amazing how he could do something without any real practice, he was that kind of lad. He just seemed to excel at pretty much all sports. He played at Blackburn for a bit, then he signed for Burnley and also at Preston.
"He came through the academy system a bit later than most, when he was 13 or 14, so his learning curve was very steep. He ended up finding a place at AFC Fylde at 16 and he loved it. He was a winger but as long as he could score goals and at the centre of the action he was happy."
Mr Bennett dropped Luke off to play football at Euxton on March 6, 2021.
The coroner asked Mr Bennett how he and his wife, along with Luke's older brother Dylan, were doing since his death. He began to cry as he replied: "Day by day. It hasn't been easy."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Man who choked on sausage rolls 'loved being with people'
Paedophile who worked with kids had sick videos of young girls on his phone
ITV Dancing On Ice issue presenter update after Phillip Schofield axe
Breakfast star Naga Munchetty 'screams in pain' as husband calls ambulance
