Family, friends and Minis gather for final farewell to Joshua after 14-year-old's tragic death

He was the Mini-mad boy who had saved hundreds of pounds to fix up his very own classic car with his father ready for the day he passed his test.

But tragically Joshua Rowlinson, from Walsall, had his life cut short at the age of 14 after suffering from a suspected epileptic fit which brought on a heart attack.

His devastated parents step-father Adam Smith, aged 38, and mother Becki Shone, aged 32, turned the Shelfield Academy pupil's funeral into a celebration of his short but bright life.

Dozens of Minis featured in yesterday's procession to Sandwell Valley Crematorium, with drivers hailing from all over the country answering a social media appeal to make the occasion extra special.

"I don't know why, maybe he got it from me or his grandad but Joshua loved the classic Mini," said Mr Smith.

"He used to help me fix our car and had saved £1,700 towards his own Mini. He just saved pocket money and some Christmases didn't ask for presents he just wanted money towards it.

"He wanted me and him to work on it together so on the day he passed his test he could drive it. It was something he wanted to pass on down through the family."

The doting step-father said Joshua had a huge personality and character despite having to overcome Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other underlying behavioural symptoms, which held him back from prospective careers in The Army and the Royal Air Force.

The father-of-three, whose other two children are daughters Amelia, aged 12, and Lily-Mae, aged two, had been Joshua's carer as well and said their relationship had been incredibly close.

"He wasn't just my son he was my best mate. We did absolutely everything together. He followed me everywhere. He was like my little shadow."

What adds to the pain of losing Joshua is that there are still question marks over why he died.

It was only in August this year when he had his first ever fit while the family were on holiday at Camber Sands in East Sussex.

Doctors at Conquest Hospital in Hastings said it was not necessarily anything to worry about, being the only one he had ever had. But when Joshua had a second fit within weeks of the family returning home, his parents took him to Walsall Manor Hospital, where doctors began investigating further.

After a brain scan Mr Smith said doctors told him it was likely his son had epilepsy, but further tests were arranged to confirm the diagnosis.

On Saturday, October 22, tragedy struck.

The teenager had his third fit in the night and the following morning his parents found him not breathing.

Mr Smith carried out CPR and managed to regain a pulse, while paramedics who arrived at the home on Foodbrook Lane, Pelsall, managed to get Joshua breathing in the ambulance.

But later the same day the boy passed away at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

For Mr Smith it is the second time he has endured a devastating loss after his former wife Sarah died from skin cancer in 2006 aged 27.

And now his outlook has changed.

"When I lost my wife I went into a very dark place and became very depressed," he said. "I can't go back there again.

"Grief brings on an awful lot of different emotions, anger and frustration. We have been through it all. I am just trying to think of the times we had together.

"It was a freak accident and it was his calling, his time. That's how I have to look at it. Becki is the same as me. I can't beat myself up like I did last time."

One consolation will be that Mr Smith did manage to fulfil his son's wish to see his beloved West Bromwich Albion at an away match, which he did in September when they travelled to Bournemouth together.

And the Baggies also played a major part in the funeral: Joshua's coffin was decorated in the traditional blue and white colours with the club crest and a home shirt draped over the top, while dozens of the 100-strong gathering of family and friends were wearing West Brom tops.

They all stood to their feet and applauded as Mr Smith read out a poem to Joshua, while Miss Shone paid her own tribute.

"People who knew Joshua knew what an amazing human being he was," she said. She added: "We are so privileged to have been his parents."