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Please also visit www.meningitisuk.tributefunds.com where information about Meningitis is available as well as how much has already been raised in memory and how it has been acheived.

Mark Tanton passed away September 2010 from the deadly brain bug aged 14, just two days after showing any sign of being ill.

His devastating death has prompted his parents Lesley and John, and brother Paul, 21, to speak out in support of Meningitis UK's winter campaign, which warns people to look out for each other during the cold weather.

Mark, who was in Year 10 at Campion School, woke up on the morning of September 15 feeling fine and went to school as usual.

He was sent home with a sickness and vomiting bug in the afternoon and later developed a temperature and a slight headache.

His mum Lesley, 45, said: "We gave him Calpol and Ibuprofen and he seemed to improve. He had just gone back to school for the term and there were a few children off with a similar thing so we just thought it was a virus initially."

Mark went to bed and seemed to be a little better in the morning. He had stopped being sick but still had a headache, which got worse throughout the morning.

Alarm bells started to ring with Lesley, who is a nurse, when he started complaining of a stiff neck.

She said: "I took him to the doctors who gave him precautionary antibiotics and referred him to the hospital as they were also concerned.

"Initially they thought it was a normal bug as he had no rash. I had queried meningitis straightaway and my fears were confounded when he started to complain about the light hurting his eyes.

"He rapidly went downhill on Thursday afternoon. The doctors were absolutely dumbfounded by the speed at which the meningitis took hold."

Mark was transferred from Northampton General to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in Nottingham, after a brain scan revealed a lot of inflammation.

Lesley added: "They did a second brain scan at around 1am on the Friday morning and they came to tell us that there wasn't any hope – the swelling had done too much damage. We lost Mark a few hours later."

It was initially thought that Mark had pneumococcal meningitis, but test results from his spinal fluid later confirmed that he had the rare meningococcal group Y strain. There are only around 60 cases of this type in the UK each year.

Mark's sudden and devastating death hasprompted his friends and family to set up a tribute fund in his memory to raise money for Meningitis UK. The fund's online at www.meningitisuk.tributefunds.com under Mark's name.

Lesley said: "We've had so much support from his friends as well as our friends and neighbours. Mark was definitely a character, always so cheerful and happy. We will remember him for his big hair, big smile and big heart.

"Until a vaccine's found for all forms of meningitis we believe it's very important to educate people about the disease, especially at this time of the year."