A £20,000 appeal has been launched to help the heartbroken family of a North East footballer who died during a game he had been playing in at the weekend.
Darren Scott, 40, had turned out for the Cobblers Hall FC over-40s team from Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, against South Shields Catholic Club on Saturday when he collapsed.
The North East Ambulance Service and Great North Air Ambulance were called to the scene at Cleadon Park but despite the desperate attempts of medics to revive Darren he was pronounced dead at the scene.
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His friend and club secretary, Mark Preston, was at the game as the tragedy unfolded.
Mark said: "He came off after 20 minutes with a suspected hamstring injury. About six or seven minutes into the second half I turned and saw he was lying down on the ground.
"It was obvious something was wrong and he needed medical attention and we called for an ambulance.
"Two of the team are first aiders and they carried out CPR before the ambulance crews arrived.
"They got there really quickly after about 10 minutes. Everybody did their best - the ambulance crews, the two teams - with all their efforts.
"One of the ambulance staff said to me what we did had given them a chance to save Daz but it wasn't to be this time."
Mark said the football community, not just in the North East but the UK, had been left “shocked” and “devastated” by the tragedy and had sent messages of condolence to the family.
He leaves behind his wife Donna, who he married in October 2021 and had just recently bought their ‘forever’ home with, and his children Declan, 17, Noah, 15 and Layna, nine.
Mark said: "The whole family has been left devastated but they are trying to stay strong and support each other. I don't think it's hit home yet."
In a touching online post Declan thanked everyone for the kind messages sent to the family.
"We all need to stay strong as it's what dad would have wanted. We all love you dad," he wrote.
Mark said Darren was a loyal Newcastle United fan who followed the team around Europe before he started a family and loved playing football.
"He dedicated much of his time coaching Newton Aycliffe Youth Eagles Under 15s, supporting his children in following their dreams.
"Declan and Noah are both exceptionally skilled and accomplished players - he was so proud of them both.
“His daughter, Layna runs for Newton Aycliffe and has just been chosen to run in the regional team - something Daz was buzzing about. She will be running competitively in March."
Alongside the tributes, a JustGiving fundraising page has been set up to support Darren’s family by Mark with a £20,000 target and already over £12,000 has been raised.
Darren's wife had asked that part of the money raised should go towards buying a defibrillator.
However Mark said the club's sponsors, Securicorp (NE) Ltd of Newton Aycliffe have already ordered and paid for one.
There will be bucket collections at this weekend's game and in the future there will be other fundraising events.
"Donna and the children will need help not just now but in the future. They are part of the club's family and we intend to look after them," said Mark.
He added: "Daz was a generous, honest guy with not a bad word to say about anybody.
"We used to meet every Saturday morning and drive to the game, putting the world to rights, and talk about about Newcastle United and Liverpool - I'm a Liverpool fan - it won't be the same again for me now."
If you want to donate go to the JustGiving page here.
Fundraising plans include auctioned off memorabilia. If anyone has memorabilia that they want to offer for the future event, they can do so by contacting markpreston1974@hotmail.co.uk.
