Brit footie fan dies of brain haemorrhage after heading football

London, July 3 : Football freak David Belk might never have imagined that the game he worships would cost him his life.

The company director died from a brain haemorrhage as a direct result of heading a ball during an amateur soccer match.

Belk, 50, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, was unaware to the fact that the impact caused a tiny tear in a blood vessel.

In the aftermath of the match for Higher Poynton Veterans he began to suffer severe headaches, and nine days later he died in hospital.

The inquest into Belk's death heard that he had been fitted with a pacemaker and was taking the blood-thinning agent Warfarin.

"He just loved his football. He was a great supporter of Macclesfield Town. He was a man who lived his life to the full. He loved life and his family," The Mirror quoted his wife Sheila, a medical receptionist, as saying.

Consultant neurosurgeon Ajit Sofat said that even if David had gone to hospital immediately, his death could not have been prevented.

Dr Janet Napier, Cheshire deputy coroner, said the header led to the bleed, which was worsened by Warfarin.

She added: "Certainly no one would have thought heading a ball would have that effect."

Mark Warburton, the chairman of Poynton FC and a one-time teammate of Belk, said: "He was a great club member, and extremely dedicated. He played for Poynton FC first team during probably our most successful period when we won the Stockport Cup in the mid Eighties."

"He went on to play for Poynton Nomads, where he finished his Saturday football career by winning the Player of the Year award. After that he moved on to Higher Poynton Veterans," he added.

ANI