A 12-hour music festival in memory of former Matravers pupil Rick Mills is being held again but this time in his hometown of Westbury.

Rick was 18 when he fell from a sun terrace while on holiday with his dad in Madeira in September 2001, suffering internal injuries.

After 12 weeks in hospital on the island, he was transferred to the Royal United Hospital in Bath where he stayed for six months. In 2002, aged 19, he was sent to Middlesex Hospital for surgery, but contracted a major infection, leading to a difficult decision about turning off his life support machine.

Rickfest was then set up by his mother and stepfather, Jayne and Phil Abbott and was usually held at Lime Trees Farm, Kington Langley. This year it is at Westbury Paragon Hall on October 25.

Mrs Abbott, 54, said: “When it came to the 10th anniversary we wanted to celebrate and do something. Rick was mad on music. It was what kept him going during his 10 months in hospital.

“My husband, Phil, said why don’t we do a music event?

“The first year was a private party and last year it grew. We had a festival site, with two stages. This year we wanted to scale it down.

“We are really pleased to bring it back to Westbury. It would be so nice if people who knew Rick and went to school with him could come along.”

Rickfest will start at noon and throughout the day there will be music from ten bands, including Broken Image, a five-piece band from Swindon which perform classic rock covers, and Benji & Hibbz, a hiphop/soul act based in Bath.

Money raised will go towards the Rainbow Trust, a charity that supports families with children with life threatening or terminal illnesses.

Mrs Abbott has worked for the trust for six years and said: “I got into that work because I understand how hard it is for parents to have a child in hospital poorly.

“Because Rick was 18 when he went into hospital he wasn’t classed as a child. Everything went through him and we had to try and gather as much information as we could. We had no support or help.

“We felt really isolated and alone.”

Tickets cost £10 in advance and £12 on the door and are available at www.rickfest.org where there is more information.