EIGHT years may have passed since a heartbroken mother lost her teenage son in a fatal motorcycle crash but the pain has not dulled.

Josh Holmes, 18, suffered multiple injuries when his bike collided with a Volkswagen Polo on the A59 near Gisburn in September 2008.

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The former Ivy Bank College student, who was working as a refrigeration engineer, suffered multiple injuries in the fatal incident and was pronounced dead at the scene.

His mother, Kirsty Whitehead, 45, has warned motorists to think of the people they would leave behind before they get behind the wheel and drive irresponsibly.

Mrs Whitehead, who lives in Burnley, has backed the Lancashire Telegraph’s ‘Stop the Madness’ campaign and said if it stops other parents having their ‘world torn apart’ then it will have been a success.

Mrs Whitehead, who is an ambassador for Lancashire Road Safety Partnership’s ‘‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ initiative and gives talk to teenagers about how Josh’s death irreversibly changed her life.

She said: “The morning I got the knock on the door from the policeman to tell me Josh had died was the day my world fell apart.

“That night was a blur, having to identify my child.

“Josh will always remain my young, blond, cheeky, blue-eyed boy. My boy. my Josh.

“The pain of losing my blue-eyed boy never goes away. It never gets easier.

“The hardest thing for me was having to tell Josh’s dad, his other family, friends and girlfriend that he had died. Nothing ever prepares you for that.

“I feel I have to do the road safety campaigning.

“If I can reach just one teenager and their mum doesn’t have to go through what I have to every day then I have made a difference.

“These drivers need to realise that they don’t want to be a statistic.

“Just think about the devastation that’s left behind and the pieces that have to be picked up after a silly mistake.”

Her warnings come after hundreds of children attended a ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ event at Burnley Mechanics Theatre yesterday.

Mrs Whitehead said: “If you’re running late, then be late. Don’t drive like a lunatic and put your life and those of others at risk. It’s better to get somewhere late than not at all.

“I hope Josh is proud of the campaigning work I am doing.

“I hope he has grown his angel wings and is watching over some of these young drivers and making sure they don’t make the same mistake.

“I fully support the Lancashire Telegraph’s campaign.

“Anything to do with safety and saving lives has to be applauded.

“If it does its job and saves others from losing their sons or daughters and having their world torn apart then it will be a good thing.”