Twenty-two-year old Joshua Bladon from Brookside Walk in Leighton died on a building site in Bedgrove, Aylesbury, on Wednesday afternoon.

Builder Joshua was digging a trench for footings to a house extension when it caved in on him. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 1.28pm.
His parents were called to Stoke Mandeville Hospital where police informed them of the tragedy.

Dad Tony said: "I received a call from my neighbour saying I should go to Stoke Mandeville straight away as Josh had been in an accident.
"We got there and expected him to arrive in an air ambulance. But he didn't. Instead we were shown to a room and then the police walked in and we knew it was the worst."



Detective Inspector Vince Grey, who was at the scene, said: "It was a tragic accident.

"One young gentleman has been killed during various construction work going on as an extension to the property.
"He was working on the footings and the side footings collapsed on top of him."

Mark Begley, spokesman for South Central Ambulance Service, said the man was crushed by all the soil and this prevented him from being able to breathe.

He praised the work of all the services, but added: "Sadly, despite our best efforts, we were unable to save him.
"It is so sad we didn't have a good outcome. It is very sad at the moment for us."

Firefighters also battled to rescue the man from the trench.
Three crews from Aylesbury and the Urban Search and Rescue team from Beaconsfield, who were taking part in a training session at Aylesbury Fire Station, worked to release Joshua while paramedics tried to resuscitate him.

Group manager Darryl Keen, who attended the incident, said: "All the emergency services at the scene worked extremely hard to try to save his life, but unfortunately he was pronounced dead after being released."

The family told the LBO snowboarding enthusiast Josh was a much-loved brother to Paul, 27, Julianne, 26, and Sam, 20as well as being a "well-loved Uncle Josh" to Julianne's son Lewis.

Friends have been paying tribute to Joshua since his death. Three hours after the tragedy, 150 friends rallied at the Lancer pub in Lake Street to toast his life – with Coca-cola, as Joshua was tee-total. More than 300 have paid tribute on the Facebook website. Many have also laid tributes at the site where he died.

Dad Tony made the pilgrimage to Aylesbury on Friday morning. He has collected all the flowers left there and moved them to their garden in Brookside Walk.

He said: "As a child, Josh loved fishing and golf. As he grew up, his love for cars surfaced and he earned the nickname Joshwa 172 after a cherished Renault Clio Sport that he restored and raced."

Distraught mum Sandra said: "He was a real actio man – he loved life and filled it to the full. He didn't sit still for five minutes. He particularly loved snow-boarding and his car.

"He was so sensitive, handsome and had a great sense of humour. He gave advice to people and was so caring and made us laugh when we were sad."
Dad Tony added: "If he had died snowboarding – doing something he loved – it would have been easier to accept. But not this way. He shouldn't have been there – he was doing someone a favour."

Joshua's best friend Ashley Sheath has organised a charity football match in memory of Joshua this Sunday (April 27) at Leighton Town's ground in Bell Close.

Leighton Athletic will play Leighton Borough at 3pm. Entry fees of £2 per person will go to Josh's family.

Captain of Athletic Ashley said: "Thank you to Leighton Town for donating the ground to us. Many of the players knew Joshua. He was like an angel – he didn't have to be seen to know he was there."

Joshua's funeral will be held at All Saints' Church, in Leighton on Friday (April 25) at 11am. Donations can be made to Cancer Research through Dillamore's Funeral services.

A post mortem showed Joshua had died from asphyxiation. An inquest was opened and adjourned.

Health and Safety executives will be holding an investigation.


Did you know Josh? Send your remembrances and tributes to sarah.holmes@lbobserver.co.uk or add your tribute on the link below.