Aston Villa legend Gary Shaw died from head injury after fall following night out, inquest hears

Aston Villa legend Gary Shaw died from a severe head injury after a fall following a night out with friends, an inquest into his death has heard.

Gary Shaw was found collapsed in a Birmingham street and was discovered unconscious outside his Edgbaston home.

Emergency services were alerted after a neighbour saw the 63-year-old lying on the pavement, where he struck his head, in the early hours of Friday 6 September.

Shaw, who won the old First Division and European Cup with Aston Villa, was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital but he never regained consciousness and died on Monday 16 September.

At his inquest, which concluded on Thursday 5 December, senior coroner Louise Hunt recorded a verdict of accidental death, detailing the cause as a severe head injury caused by a fall.

A statement from his relative read: "He had been out for the evening at the Jam House club. He consumed an amount of alcohol. However sometime after getting out of the taxi, he had fallen and hit his head on the kerbside, rendering him unconscious.

"He was found and an ambulance was called." A critical care doctor told the court Mr Shaw had been found unconscious by ambulance crews and was admitted to the hospital at around 2.15am.

Mrs Hunt told the short hearing: "Mr Shaw had been out for the night drinking with friends on September 5, 2024. In the early hours of September 6, he made his way home in a taxi.

"He was found collapsed on the pavement by a neighbour outside his home address at 1.20am, having fallen, hitting his head. He was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was found to have a severe head injury as a result of the fall which resulted in his death on September 16.

"I'm satisfied I should record a conclusion of accident." She offered her condolences to "all his family and friends."

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