THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised in memory of a Hampshire cricketer who died after suffering an epileptic seizure.

Paul Newman, 38, of Totton, was on a golfing holiday in Portugal when he was taken ill at the complex where he was staying.

Members of the cricket teams he played for - Calmore and Paultons - were devastated when they learned of his death.

The two clubs decided to play each other in a charity match which netted £3,000 for Epilepsy Action. Other money raised by fellow players on the golfing trip helped Paultons buy a defibrillator that has been installed at the clubhouse.

Paul, who was single, was a support worker at a psychiatric hospital at Tatchbury Mount, Calmore.

The former Testwood School pupil was about to have breakfast with his fellow golfers when he suffered an epileptic fit and could not be revived.

His father Michael, 67, said: “Paul was diagnosed in his early teens. He’d have two or three fits in quick succession and then go for months without one.

“He was a happy-go-lucky person who was friends with everyone.

 

“The cricket match was a celebration of his life and those involved raised £3,000 in a single day, which was phenomenal.”

Michael, his wife Janet and their daughter Sarah, said they wanted to thank everyone who organised the match, donated prizes and attended the event.

Paul, dubbed a “gentle giant” because he was about 6ft 5in tall, died in March.

A message posted on social media at the time said: “It is with great sadness that Calmore Sports Club has learned of the passing of Paul Newman, who played for us and more recently Paultons Cricket Club, at the age of just 38.

“Calmore Sports Club wishes to pass its deepest condolences to Mike, his family, friends and colleagues at Paultons Cricket Club.

“He will be very sadly missed and his passing is being felt very hard among local cricket.”

Paultons Cricket Club described him as a “gentle giant, a great clubman and definitely one of the good guys”.

Some of the money which paid for the club’s new defibrillator was donated by Barrett Homes. One of the golfers who was on the same trip as Paul is married to a woman who works for the company.

Most of those diagnosed with epilepsy are either children or people over the age of 65, but anyone can develop the condition at any point in their life.

There are thought to be more than half a million sufferers in the UK, which equates to one in every 100 people.