Teenager George Zographou had been diagnosed with a ‘stress fracture’ by festival medics, days before he died of meningitis.

The family of the well-known Bristol 18-year-old have spoken about his last moments before he collapsed and never woke up again while attending a five-day music festival in Cornwall.

George – known to his loved ones as Zoggy – had gone to Boardmasters Festival in Newquay on Thursday, August 10, but felt unwell the following day.

A popular student at St Brendan’s Sixth Form College, George had woken up and felt severe limb pain in his legs, especially his left leg. He found he was unable to put any weight on it and was suffering from cramps and searing pain. Friends helped him to the festival’s medical tent. His family said he had a mottled, bruised and non-raised rash, which looked like a tribal sign, horizontally across his left foot.

But after a number of tests, festival medics concluded that George might have suffered a stress fracture on his ankle and was suffering from dehydration. He had been vomiting all night, his family said.

His heart rate was triple his normal level, at 100 beats per minute. George had a lower than normal resting heart rate, around 32bpm, his family told the Bristol Post.

He was moved to the medical tent for recovery but became confused and agitated. Unable to lie down on a bed, he was given a space on the floor, with pillows, instead.

Early on the Friday evening, George went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated by festival staff. His heart started again, but he remained unconscious. He was rushed to Royal Cornwall Hospital in a coma, and was diagnosed with meningitis B. The teenager remained on life support until he passed away at around 1.30pm on Wednesday, August 16, after his ventilator was switched off.

An inquest has not been called into George’s death.

His sister Nicole said: “The three of us were there – mum, dad and I, holding his hand. My mum was in the bed with him while our closest magical friends and family were not too far away.

“A conveyor belt of people who loved George had been coming in and out to see him, talking to him. I didn't realise until now how kind he was to others, and so supportive to all his friends.

“I felt like I had been floating, looking down on myself. I felt like I had been living someone else’s life.

“How was I reading public health statements and news articles about my little brother? How is my George a fatal meningococcal B statistic now?

“We were at the hospital for five days, living through waves of utter despair and devastation, mixed with laughing and sharing huge waves of love and memories.”

A spokeswoman for the festival said George had been seen by a senior doctor and that he had been able to walk with “minimal assistance”.

“At no point was he considered by the medical team to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and was not treated as such,” she added. “At no point was he left alone under our care.”

George was given pain killers and had an examination by two doctors and two paramedics, the festival organisers said.

“At no point did he show any signs of sepsis or indeed meningococcal disease,” the spokeswoman added.

She said blood tests for sepsis came up negative and George was “conscious and alert” during his stay until around 5pm on the Friday, when he suffered a cardiac arrested and his heart stopped for about five minutes.

He was brought to hospital, where he died five days later.

There was standing room only in one of Bristol’s biggest churches – St Mary Redcliffe – when loved ones said their final farewells to George.

Nicole said: “There were moments of hope, and moments of complete darkness. I looked around me and saw people from all walks of life - many strangers before this; flooding in, holding hands, hugging and helping each other. [They were] bringing us up when we lost the floor from beneath us.

“It’s been a real domino effect, a ripple of grief. Over those five days in hospital I saw the most incredibly beautiful and traumatic, harrowing things - all at the same time.

“I have seen the best in so many people, through utter darkness. Let's treat each other like this more, not just when loss brings us all together.”

The family are now campaigning for more awareness for meningitis and want the meningitis B vaccine to be available for all on the NHS.

The vaccine was only available on the NHS for children born after May 2015. Everyone else would have to pay about £250 to £350 for the vaccination privately.

A petition to introduce the vaccine was turned down by the Government earlier this year.

(Image: Family)

Nicole added: “I truly hope that no one ever has to experience this utter true life tragedy, watching tubes being removed until your loved one passes away. To say it has been crippling is not enough.

“My future is now completely blank and terrifying. There were certainties that are no longer certain. I have no idea how this story goes now, the story of my life without George.”

The Boardmasters spokeswoman said the festival had four medical units and three ambulances on site, 24 hours a day.