Tragedy as schoolboy, 15, is left in vegetative state after doing flip off pier to impress his mates before landing 'face first on the water'

A schoolboy has been left in a vegetative state after he flipped off a pier to impress his mates and landed 'face first on the water'.

Jack Dolan, 15, went to the beach for the first time by himself on Sunday, June 23, and threw himself off Stone Pier in Margate, Kent.

He had done the move dozens of times before, most recently on holiday in Egypt in September, but this time he landed head first on the water.

The impact was so severe it knocked him unconscious and caused his brain to be damaged so badly that scans show it is beyond repair.

When doctors withdrew his life support, amazingly Jack breathed for himself, but that is about as much as his body can do. He will not recover.

Now his stepdad Dave Dolan and mum Lisa are desperately fundraising to move house so they can take Jack out of hospital and care for him themselves until he dies.

Dave, 35, who brought Jack up as his own, said the teen was essentially in a 'grey area' where experts don't know how long he will stay alive, saying it could be weeks or years.

'I think he misjudged it and he landed face first on the water and knocked himself out,' distraught Dave said.

'It was only three or four metres and if he'd landed a quarter rotation one way or the other he would probably have been fine.

'That's why we can't be angry at him. He'd done it so many times before, there is no blame.

'I know he was laughing, I can actually see him doing it, smiling and being a complete show off.

'The last thing he would have known was being happy.'

It was the first time Jack had gone to the beach without his mum and dad as they were protective of him as he had ADHD and was liable to act without thinking.

'It was the first time we'd let him,' Dave continued.

'We'd always said no because we were quite strict. He had ADHD and he acts before he thinks.

'But he was 15 and we wanted to give him a bit more freedom.'

Jack, a pupil at the Howard School in Medway, was with four or five friends and his girlfriend on the day.

The teen most likely didn't realise how high the pier was, was knocked unconscious and then drowned, although he wasn't in the water long before being pulled out.

A tragic last picture shows Jack just half an hour before it happened, smiling as he arrives at Margate Station with a friend.

Video footage from his holiday in Egypt in September shows him laughing and doing the same move off the side of a jetty.

Dave, who lives in Rainham, Kent, said he was proud of Jack's friends for their actions following the horrifying accident.

One rang 999 while his girlfriend immediately contacted Jack's mum, who rushed to the popular beach resort.

The teen was treated by paramedics before being taken to King's College Hospital by air ambulance, but MRI scans show his brain is beyond repair.

When doctors withdrew his life support, amazingly the youngster breathed for himself, but that is about as much as his body can do.

Doctors are unsure whether he will live for weeks or even years but he will need round-the-clock care, something the Dolans cannot provide for him in their current flat.

'He is in a grey area,' Dave, an area supervisor for a facilities management company, said.

'He's on end of life care and while his body is OK, his brain is dead.

'He can't go to a children's hospice because you have to be close to death. He's off life support and breathing, but doing nothing else.

'His eyes flutter sometimes but he's asleep most of the time.

'We want to take him home, but we live in a maisonette and we can't have him here.

'We need two reception rooms, a downstairs closet and wet room.'

They were given the option of putting him in residential care, sending him out for fostering or taking him home. 

The family - including Jack's sisters Faith, ten, and Grace, eight - are currently in council accommodation and are hoping they can be moved to a house suitable for Jack as soon as possible.

If they can find a new home they will need to complete renovations quickly to make it able to cope with Jack and the mass of equipment he will need.

Jack is currently suffering from dystonia, which causes uncontrolled and painful muscle movements.

The family also need help finding a wheelchair for Jacks needs, whilst maintaining and creating a new normal for his two younger sisters.

They have set up a Just Giving page to help them make the alterations if they get rehoused and to pay for the eventual funeral costs. It has so far raised £12,000 of its £20,000 target with 451 supporters donating.

Dave says it is the least they can do for Jack.

'We've looked after him this far and I won't turn my back on him now,' Dave added.

'We want to bring him home as soon as we can.'

Meanwhile Lisa, 33, is learning to care for Jack from the doctors and nurses in London and will give up her job in finance.

Sam Cass, who organised the crowdfunder for Jack, described him as 'the biggest joker, with a heart of gold.'

He added: 'He loves to show off in front of girls and won't leave the house without doing his hair.

'He loves his family, will do anything for his sisters and this fundraiser is to take a little bit of the burden away from them.

'Many people love Jack and I'm sure they all wish the family wasn't going through this right now.'