THE father of Thomas Staniforth told today how he is still reeling in disbelief, one year after his son died after taking Ecstasy.

Former York City star Gordon Staniforth also spoke of his determination to continue telling youngsters about the "awful" impact of Thomas' death on his family and friends.

He revealed he would be speaking this autumn to pupils at Manor School and also Thomas' old school - Tadcaster Grammar - where he would be presenting a trophy for sporting achievement in his son's memory.

Thomas, who played for Sheffield Wednesday, died on August 20 last year after collapsing outside a York nightclub. An inquest later heard that the primary cause of death was Ecstasy.

Gordon, from Copmanthorpe, said that, on the first anniversary of his death, he still missed his son badly.

"To be honest, in the last few weeks I have probably been thinking about him more than ever," he said. "I still cannot believe it has happened.

"It has just been an awful, awful year. The strain on all the family has been awful. It has affected all the relationships in our family. It has re-opened old wounds. It has affected his brother James deeply.

"The stress has been beyond belief. We struggle to sleep at night. I have had to take weeks off work because I have been unable to cope."

He said today's anniversary would be a tough day to cope with.

"Every 'first' has been tough. Our first Christmas without him, his first birthday since his death.

"We are just looking to see if there is any light at the end of the tunnel."

He said he had no plans to go touring the country and telling kids about the dangers of Ecstasy.

But he was happy to respond to invitations to local schools, such as Manor and Tadcaster, to speak simply to students about drugs awareness and about the impact Thomas's death had had on his family.

Updated: 12:10 Tuesday, August 20, 2002