Heath Ledger’s family still feel his presence

Heath Ledger’s family feel he is "still around every day".

The ‘A Knight’s Tale’ actor tragically passed away from an accidental prescription drugs overdose in 2008 aged 28 but his father Kim Ledger insisted they can still feel the late star’s presence.

Speaking to Goss.ie at the 9th Heath Ledger scholarship dinner in Los Angeles, Kim said: "He gave us a lot of love as an individual, he was an amazing young guy.

"He loved his family and his friends and we loved him right back. We still feel like he’s around us every single day."

And Kim recently called for tighter monitoring of prescription medications, to prevent similar tragedies to Heath’s.

He said: "The addiction to prescription drugs is a massive problem.

"I think from a government point of view it would be great to see real-time monitoring systems in each country.

"These would allow doctors and pharmacists to spot addicts by having access to live updates on what drugs patients have been handed and when.

"It would help doctors understand that the patient coming to them has probably shopped somewhere else and it gives them a little bit of time to prepare for a visitation.

"At the same time maybe they would be able to counsel that individual and also offer pathways."

Heath’s daughter Matilda was just two when the actor died and her mother Michelle Williams previously admitted it "won’t ever be right" to have to raise Matilda without her father.

She said: "In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I’m a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you’ve been.

"In pretty much all senses but one, I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not have her dad.

"You know, that’s just that something doesn’t … I mean, it just won’t ever be right."