My handsome, sporty 17 year old son died in the blink of an eye after making a split second decision… my life has never been the same, but I want to prevent others from making the same terrible mistake

A heartbroken mother has warned schoolchildren about the dangers of abusing common painkillers after losing her son to a split-second ‘fatal error of judgement’.

William Horley was just 17 when he accidentally overdosed on the painkiller Tramadol in 2018.

The teenager, who had just been accepted into the army, bought the prescription drug for £60 from another boy who found it on the ‘dark web’ – a part of the internet not visible to normal search engines.

But during a night out with friends after finishing their shifts at a seafood restaurant, he took the painkiller while drinking and suffered a fatal reaction.

Now Kim Webster, from Herne Bay, Kent, is on a mission to save young lives and discourage drug use by telling her tragic story to thousands of schoolchildren across the country.

She said: ‘Will wasn’t a ‘druggie’ but one night he went out with a friend and after a few drinks they were offered Tramadol as a recreational high.

‘His friend survived, but tragically Will suffered a reaction and died.

‘It shows that drug experiments can literally be like flipping a coin: heads are okay, tails are not.

The teenager, who had just been accepted into the army, bought the prescription drug for £60 from another boy who found it on the ‘dark web’ – a part of the internet not visible to normal search engines.

“Will had a bright future ahead of him in the military, but it was gone in an instant.”

She also previously told MailOnline: ‘He was a sensible guy and we had discussed drugs. He always said to me, “Mom, I’m not stupid. I’m joining the army, which has a zero-tolerance drug policy.”

‘There was an occasion when I caught him smoking a joint.

‘I challenged him quite a bit, even though I knew: what teenager hasn’t done that these days?

‘But overall I wasn’t worried about my son getting involved with drugs because I believed he would never jeopardize his future.

“Will wasn’t a drug addict. This was a terrible accident, a teenager having fun with his friends, making a momentary bad decision and paying the ultimate price.

‘Such a terrible waste of a promising young life.’

An inquest into his death in January 2019 ruled on a Tramadol overdose with pneumonia.

An inquest into his death in January 2019 ruled on Tramadol overdose with pneumonia

Kim now lectures at schools and shares Will’s story to help keep teens from getting involved with drugs

Ms Webster now devotes herself to getting her message out through the addiction charity Kenward Trust, where she works as a youth education leader.

His friend told the inquest that although he knew Will had smoked cannabis occasionally in the past, this was the first time the teenager had used Tramadol.

In 2023, Jake Minter, who was also just 17 at the time of the tragedy, was sentenced to nine months in prison after admitting supplying Will with the Class C substance in the days before his death.

Ms Webster now devotes herself to getting her message out through the addictions charity Kenward Trust, where she works as a youth education leader.

She has visited dozens of secondary schools and colleges in Kent and spoken to more than 55,000 young people, some of whom were left in tears.

Her first visit before joining the trust was to Will’s old school, Herne Bay High, which proved both emotional and challenging, she said.

But when two students told her afterwards about the impact it had had on them, it inspired her to continue.

She added, “I’m just a mom telling my story and hoping to get a message across.

‘I don’t teach them because they have to make their own choices. But I let them know what the tragic consequences could be for them and their families.

Since childhood, Will was an active and lively child who dreamed of joining the army (pictured at home in a pirate costume)

William (depicted as a pre-teen) had been accepted into the army and would join three months after his death

‘It inspires me to keep doing it.’

Now the Kenward Trust is organizing a charity ball for young people in March, the Kenward Will Change Lives Ball, in memory of Will.

There will be a banquet, music and dancing, and guests are encouraged to ‘dress to impress’.

The money raised, including from an auction that evening, will go towards the charity’s vital residential and outreach work in the community.

It comes as a BBC investigation in June found that more than 50 million doses of illegally traded medicines have been seized in Britain over the past five years.

The attacks between 2019 and 2023 included unlicensed painkillers, anxiety medications, weight-loss pills and erectile dysfunction drugs.

Criminal gangs sell drugs illegally through websites designed to look like legitimate pharmacies.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the 50 million doses seized had a street value of up to £70 million.

Last month, new analysis also found that NHS spending on addictive opioid painkillers has doubled since the pandemic.

Doctors have doled out almost £1 billion worth of drugs in the past five years, with experts blaming the painful wait for surgery.

The health service distributed £90.1 million worth of medicines in 2019, rising to £186.2 million last year and an expected £189 million this year.