Oliver Wright was described as a ‘cheeky young man’
Oliver Wright’s actions helped save the lives of five people(Image: Supplied)
A mum has paid tribute to her “great” son who helped save the lives of five people. Oliver Wright was labelled a “cheeky young man” who loved a practical joke by his mum Jill.
Oliver, who had a brother and two sisters, was a lorry driver and did odd jobs to save up his money as a teenager. However, Jill says Oliver’s fortunes changed when he fell victim to a scam aged 18, causing him to lose about £10,000 in three days.
The episode affected his mental health massively. Oliver, who was from Lymn in Warrington, tragically took his own life aged 23 in December 2022.
Paying tribute to her son, Jill, 55, told the ECHO: “He was a great boy. He was a properly cheeky young man. He was good fun. He’d move the Christmas tree and put it in a different room.
“He’d just do daft things. He was a practical joker. If he saw you in the car, he’d open the boot and then get in his car and drive off. He was just a boy.
“He was big into driving. My husband’s got his own business and Oliver used to help him out. Oliver could drive a forklift by the age of 10. He was a 20-year-old lad driving these massive lorries. Driving was his thing.”
Despite holding down his job as a HGV driver, Jill says getting scammed had a profound effect on him. He said: “He did loads and loads of jobs and by the time he got to 18, he’d saved up a hell of a lot of money.
“He got scammed on his phone and it obviously affected him. He got really upset by it. It was stressing him out and he was embarrassed, so he didn’t really quite know what to do about it. That’s where his downfall started.”
Jill says the scammers told Oliver that if he transferred them £100, they would double it and send it back to them. But they kept asking for more and he never got the money back.
She said: “They went through £10,000 within about three days and his heart just broke because he’d worked so hard. He’d go and cut people’s grass from a young age.
“He was saving up and wanted his own truck business eventually, and these people knocked it all out of him and he was embarrassed.”
Oliver went to sessions at Andy’s Man Club, a suicide prevention charity offering free to attend peer-to-peer support groups across the UK and online, with his dad and Jill’s husband Simon.
Jill said: “They did go, but he was only 19 or 20. He went a few times and we thought he’d got over it and he’d be okay.”
Mental health support
Helplines and support groups
The following are helplines and support networks for people to talk to, mostly listed on the NHS Choices website
- Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how you’re feeling, or if you’re worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org.
- CALM Campaign Against Living Miserably (0800 58 58 58) is a leading movement against suicide. It runs a UK helpline and webchat from 5pm to midnight 365 days a year for anyone who has hit a wall for any reason, who need to talk or find information and support.
- PANDAS (0808 1961 776) runs a free helpline and offers a support service for people who may be suffering with perinatal mental illness, including prenatal (antenatal) and postnatal depression plus support for their family or network.
- Childline (0800 1111) runs a helpline for children and young people in the UK. Calls are free and the number won’t show up on your phone bill.
- PAPYRUS (0800 068 41 41) is an organisation supporting teenagers and young adults who are feeling suicidal.
- Mind (0300 123 3393) is a charity providing advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.
- Students Against Depression is a website for students who are depressed, have a low mood or are having suicidal thoughts.
- Bullying UK is a website for both children and adults affected by bullying.
- Amparo provides emotional and practical support for anyone who has been affected by a suicide. This includes dealing with police and coroners; helping with media enquiries; preparing for and attending an inquest and helping to access other, appropriate, local support services. Call 0330 088 9255 or visit www.amparo.org.uk for more details.
- Hub of Hope is the UK’s most comprehensive national mental health support database. Download the free app, visit hubofhope.co.uk or text SHOUT to 85258 to find relevant services near you.
- Young Persons Advisory Service – Providing mental health and emotional wellbeing services for Liverpool’s children, young people and families. tel: 0151 707 1025 email: support@ypas.org.uk
- Paul’s Place – providing free counselling and group sessions to anyone living in Merseyside who has lost a family member or friend to suicide. Tel: 0151 226 0696 or email: paulsplace@beaconcounsellingtrust.co.uk
- The Martin Gallier Project – offering face to face support for individuals considering suicide and their families. Opening hours 9.30-16.30, 7 days a week. Tel: 0151 644 0294 email: triage@gallierhouse.co.uk
- James’ Place – supports men over 18 who are experiencing a suicidal crisis by providing quick access to therapy and support. Call 0151 303 5757 from Monday to Friday between 9.30am and 5.30pm or visit https://www.jamesplace.org.uk/
To the outside world, Oliver appeared to be fine. Jill said: “We all had a last holiday together in Morocco in September. He was brilliant.
“I was on the speedboat with him and he was scaring the living daylights out of me because he’s driving so fast. I had a wonderful family holiday and a few weeks later he wasn’t there. It’s mad.
“He was so happy the night before we lost him. He wasn’t really into football, but there was an England v Wales football match on and his girlfriend was from Wales.
“He was watching football, laughing and screaming. He was picking me up, spinning around because I was in the lounge putting the Christmas tree up early.”
Before he died, Oliver was placed in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Warrington Hospital. While she was there, Jill was given a special type of teddy bear that allows you to record a person’s heartbeat and listen to it back.
Jill said: “I was coming home in the car without my son but had this little bear on my knee with his heart beating it. If I want to listen to it, I can at any point, but I don’t necessarily do that very often. It’s just knowing that it’s there in my bedroom with me all the time.
“I think I would be a different person if I didn’t come home without that little bear. I don’t think I’d be as strong as I am now in coping with the loss.
“You’ve got pictures in the house and you’ve got videos. But this little bear in my bedroom next to his picture has helped me so much.”
Jill says the bears were donated to the hospital and the practice gave them out to loved ones during covid, when family members couldn’t visit. There are only limited numbers of bears available, so Jill decided to start making her own and donating them by setting up Oliver Abel’s Wish, a charity in memory of her son.
Since Jill started the charity in August 2023, she has been able to donate 400 bears to Warrington Hospital and 100 to Wigan Hospital. These are split between the ICU and baby wards.
A bear from Oliver Abel’s Wish charity(Image: Supplied)
Another 1,000 bears on their way and will be arriving in June ready to be donated. Jill is also in contact with other hospitals and hospices in the area and has been working with Andy’s Man Club.
Jill said: “When something like this happens, you’re just distraught and you don’t know what to do with yourself. Even just eating or watching TV is horrible.
“But one day I was watching a TV programme. It was about a little girl that had a life-shortening condition and I just thought, I need to do something with these bears.”
Jill has raised over £14,000 for the cause. Other fundraising events are planned in the future. Oliver’s legacy also lives on through him being on the organ donor register. This decision has helped save five lives since he died.
Jill said: “ I think this work has helped me deal with losing Oliver because it’s given me a focus and a way I can go and help others.
“Every time he took one of his tests – he did one with his car and two with the lorries – you can sign up to the donor register. I was really proud of him for doing that. He’s saved five people’s lives. To me he was a son, but he was also a hero.”
You can find out more about Oliver Abel’s Wish via the Just Giving page here and website here.