A BOLTON Wanderers fan died in the stands just before the Whites’ game against Aston Villa on Saturday.

Gordon Gregg, aged 87, collapsed at Villa Park in the run up to the Premier League match.

The avid Wanderers supporter had travelled to Birmingham to watch the game with his younger brother Eric.

But he suffered a heart attack in the stands in the hour before the match kicked off.

Wanderers players, who were warming up on the pitch, looked on in concern as stewards rushed to help Mr Gregg, who was originally from Westhoughton but lived in Bretherton.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at the ground before he was taken to hospital.

Fellow fan Isobel Marron, aged 71, from Smithills, was sat close by when the incident happened.

She said she heard a woman shout out “He’s not breathing” and then stewards went over to where the supporter had been standing.

Mrs Marron, who was with her 12-year-old grandson Charlie, said: “We were terribly upset. The players were out on the pitch doing their warm-up exercises and they could see what was going on. They looked shocked and concerned.”

Wanderers captain Kevin Davies said the players learned that a fan had died after the game.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw in which he scored Wanderers’ equalising goal, he said: “We were a bit distracted before the game.

“We could see something going on up there. We could see they were trying to resuscitate him.

“We were made aware after the game that he did pass away. The thoughts of the players and the staff go out to his family.”

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “It is believed that the man died from a heart attack and there are no suspicious circumstances.”

Widower Mr Gregg, a former railway worker, had been a season ticket holder for more than 40 years.

He was a keen gardener and an active member of the community in Bretherton where he served as a church warden and member of the parish council.

A neighbour said: “He was a popular and well-like person and he will be sadly missed.”

He travelled to the Millennium Stadium in 2001 to see Wanderers defeat Preston in the play-off final which saw the Whites promoted to the Premier League. His brother Eric flew from his home in Springfield, Illinois, USA, to watch the game with him.

In 2003, Mr Gregg marked his 80th birthday by presenting a framed print commemorating the club’s three FA Cup wins in 1923, 1926 and 1929 to the then Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce at the Reebok Stadium.