Six Villa heroes may have died from heading heavy footballs

A pressure group say six footballers from Aston Villa's FA Cup winning side in 1957 may have died as a result of brain injuries from heading heavy footballs.

It was uncovered by the family of West Bromwich Albion legend, Jeff Astle, who died aged 59 from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.

Jeff's widow, Laraine, and her daughters Dawn and Claire, believe other victims of heading heavy balls include almost half of Villa's cup winning side which beat Manchester United 2-1.

They are pressing for a foundation to help ex-players who have been affected by the condition. They are also calling for an independent inquiry.

The Astles say brain damage is a possibility for some of the FA-cup winning Villa players after they were contacted by the daughter of team captain Johnny Dixon, who died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2009, aged 85. A number of other players in the team died from the disease.