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For many, its arrival on the airwaves and in shops and pubs marks the start of Christmas .

But for Louis Lillywhite, the festive classic Fairytale of New York holds a more poignant meaning. He was just 14 when his mother, Kirsty MacColl – who dueted on the hit with Pogues singer Shane MacGowan – was killed in a horrific speedboat accident.

Kirsty died instantly the week before Christmas after being run over at high speed off the coast of Mexico on December 18, 2000, as she surfaced from a scuba dive. She was 41 and at the peak of her career following the release of her acclaimed album, Tropical Brainstorm.

Louis and his brother Jamie, then 15, were in the water with their mother when the speedboat entered a protected marine area over the reef on which they had just dive

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