A bereaved dad whose sons died from an ecstasy overdose has scattered their ashes in space.
Sarah and Ray Lakeman were left heartbroken after losing both of their sons, Jacques, 20, and Torin, 19, at the same time.
The dad – who shared the family’s story in 2022 – has since been campaigning for a change to drugs legislation on the Isle of Man.
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The pair have held onto their children’s ashes for over a decade, as no Location to scatter them seemed to fit the bill.
Until now.
They have scattered the ashes 100,000 feet up in space to show their children a world they never got to truly see.
It seemed particularly appropriate as Torin was studying planetary sciences.
“We’d seen what some other people had done to commemorate their loved ones, but [nothing] seemed appropriate,” Ray, from Port St Mary, told What’s The Jam.
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“It needed to be something that encompassed our own grief, acknowledged their lost potential and also something they would have loved.
“They had so much to give, their whole lives lay ahead of them, there were places to go, a world to explore.”
Sarah and Ray discovered Aura Flights, a company which sends ashes into space in a “unique intelligent scatter vessel”.
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Before embarking on their mission, the parents had something they needed to do, to protect other families from losing their children too soon.
Jacques and Torin, who did everything together, had met up in Manchester on 29 November 2014 to watch Manchester United play Hull City.
They took ecstasy (MDMA) that they had purchased on the dark web.
Two days later, the brothers were found dead in the room they had rented, with an overdose the cause.
Ray says to enable safety when taking drugs, they should be legally regulated.
But while the campaign is still ongoing, the pair wanted to say their final goodbyes.
The vessel is designed to contain the ashes securely throughout the journey into space and release them in a controlled cascade once the craft reaches a suitably spectacular altitude of 100,000 feet (32,500 metres) above Earth.
The scatter vessel is carried into space by a massive stratospheric balloon filled with hydrogen gas.
The balloon rises at a steady rate of around five metres per second, or 18 miles per hour.
As it rises, the changing pressure causes the balloon to expand, ultimately growing over 20 metres in diameter.
The vessel is also equipped with two camera systems, which film the craft’s ascent into space and the moment that the ashes are released.
Ray said: “It exceeded expectations and was very moving.
“Obviously we had some idea of the contents, but not how it would fit together.
“The aerial pictures as the balloon ascended, the snippets of them on film and still photographs, fused with the accompanying music to the video – a song the boys had helped write, performed and recorded – made it unique and very special.
“The final sequence, the image of the Earth below as their combined ashes were released, was spectacular, emotional and cathartic.
“It was exactly what we wanted and needed.”
The unique send-off took place in August 2023, with the boys together once again at last.
He added: “The process was straightforward and everything possible was done to make this a personal, individual and emotional experience for anyone that knew Jacques and Torin.
“Sarah and I are truly grateful for the compassion, knowledge and expertise of those unknown to the deceased and their families in making this possible.
“Jacques’ and Torin’s ashes will have been carried everywhere and anywhere, which is a great comfort wherever we go and look at the skies.
“They’re still part of a world they never got to know.”
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