Parents talk to the Echo about the loss of their son in a road tragedy

12:00pm Tuesday 18th December 2007

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By Chris Yandell »

A YOUNG chef killed in an accident in Hampshire had valiantly battled a host of health problems for most of his life.

Having overcome various near fatal conditions as a tot, Carl Symes was to died at the tender age of 20, on a stretch of New Forest road which has claimed several lives in recent years.

Carl loved every minute of his job and would come home and tell us about what he had been cooking that day. I can see him now, describing something he had been doing

Carl's family have told the Echo how he was just ten months old when he developed the potentially fatal brain illness of meningitis and was rushed into Southampton General Hospital.

His father Peter said his baby son had still been trying to fight off the infection when he developed a blood disorder that could also have proved fatal.

Peter added: "Carl was a little fighter and came through with flying colours."

Young Carl was featured on the front page of the Daily Echo in December 1987 after being allowed home in time for his first Christmas.

Born with the same liver disorder that had killed his sister four years earlier, Carl was 15 when he was diagnosed with Niemann Pick disease, an incurable genetic condition affecting his liver and other organs.

He died last month when his car careered off the A35 Lyndhurst to Christchurch road and plunged down an embankment.

The vehicle came to rest in dense undergrowth and could not be seen from the road. As reported in the Daily Echo, it was about 12 hours before Carl's body was discovered.

Celebrity chef Jean-Christopher Novelli was among those who sent flowers to the funeral.

Carl, whose brother Nick lives in Southampton, was a trainee commis chef at the plush Captain's Club Hotel on Christchurch Quay. He grew up in the Marchwood area, attending the infant and junior schools in the village before transferring to Applemore College, near Hythe.

His parents, who now live at Mudeford, said their son "loved his family, loved his friends and loved his work".

"It was more than just a job for him," said his mother Pauline, who recalled Carl's enthusiasm for his burgeoning career as a chef.

"He loved every minute and would come home and tell us about what he had been cooking that day. I can see him now, describing something he had been doing."

Carl spent three years working as a trainee chef at the Somerford Hotel in Christchurch.

Kelly Redmond, the hotel's general manager, said: "The team here are devastated as he was such a happy, fun, hard-working lad with a bright future ahead of him.

"Carl was a well-respected team player and made some great friends during his time with us."