Thousands raised in memory of Crowland footballer who died on the pitch

Report by Amelia Beckett.

Thousands of pounds have been raised to buy defibrillators for sports clubs in memory of a man who collapsed and died playing football.

23-year-old Michael Palmer was playing for his local club Crowland Town FC in Lincolnshire on Saturday, 25 February, when he collapsed on the pitch. An air ambulance was called, but he never regained consciousness.

Now Michael's family has decided to raise money to buy pitch-side defibrillators for remote sports clubs in his memory.

Mike Palmer, Michael's dad, said: "He never complained. He always found something funny or something funny in everything that was going on in his life. He was exceptional."

Michael, from Holbeach, was part of the reserve side playing against Leverington in the Peterborough and District Football League when he collapsed.

"The medic came and she just explained that it had been a long time and there was no activity in Michael's heart at all," Mike, added.

"The only two things I really recall after that are holding Michael's hand as all the equipment was turned off and driving away."

He initially set up a crowd funding page with a £2,000 target.

But friends and family have already raised more than £10,000 to buy the lifesaving equipment and now hope to expand outside of Lincolnshire.

His best friend and teammate, Harry Grigas, said: "It's horrible what's happened to Michael, but the best thing we can do is raise as much awareness as we can. Even if we save one life it's something."

Club secretary, Keeley Cole, said: "We're so proud. I'm going to support Mike all the way through and we're going to do this together."