Family tributes to ‘amazing’ teen killed on railway

Joshua Dugdale (19) died when he was hit by a train last Friday afternoon, leaving his family and friends in shock.

Parents Barry and Laura Dugdale, from Reedley, told how their bright son loved to design his own gadgets and was kind to everyone he met.

Laura said: “We are devastated. Josh was very quirky, always designing and making something – he was a gadget man. I will always remember he once set off a security alert at an airport with a mobile phone charger he had made himself.

“We have always lived in the countryside and Josh loved to be outside, whether it was playing on machinery when he was younger or cutting people’s lawns.

“That was typical of Josh – he was very kind and would do anything to help anyone. He also loved driving his car.

“Josh was very bubbly, friendly and quirky. We are struggling to come to terms with what he did. It was completely out of character.”

Barry and Laura said they believed Josh deliberately stepped out in front of an oncoming train on tracks between Burnley and Nelson.

They said he had recently had an argument with a close friend, but only an hour before he died had handed in a CV for a new job.

Dad Barry said: “Josh was an out and out joker. He was the instigator of a lot of happy incidents with his friends. His good friend Rob Gray has been telling us about all his happy memories.

“I think he lived in a happy bubble and perhaps wasn’t ready for the big bad world. He was in this life for a good time, not a short time.”

Josh, who attended Wheatley Lane School in Fence and Fisher More High School, Colne, had worked as an electrical engineer in Burnley for Chapman Ventilation. He had since been looking for an apprenticeship.

Josh leaves many friends and family including siblings Billy and Heidi, grandparents Phil and Julie Gledhill, and John Dugdale, as well as great grandparents George and Mary Ashurt.

Laura added: “Josh was a kind and caring boy who touched the lives of everyone he met. We would like donations in his memory to be made to the Fraser Street Project where Josh worked as a volunteer with the young people. He was unique and will be sadly missed by everyone.”

His funeral will be held on Tuesday at noon at Burnley Crematorium.