A WIDDOWER who lost his wife to lung disease hopes an annual charity football match will raise money to treat conditions like hers for years to come.

Steve Willoughby organised the game for the second year on Saturday in memory of his wife and mother-of-three Iris Willoughby-Doyle, who died aged 62 in January 2015 after suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The 53-year-old came up with the idea of the event to raise funds for the Geoffrey Harris Ward at the Churchill Hospital in Headington where his late wife was treated.

This year's memorial match, hosted by Oxford City Football Club in their Marsh Lane ground, raised about £500 which Mr Willoughby has pledged to donate to the British Lung Foundation.

He said: "It was a really good day and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves throughout the game and the raffle and stuff afterwards.

"It is definitely an annual event now and next year we are going to try and get it bigger: we are thinking about getting more people involved and putting a few more pieces together, which will hopefully raise more money for a good cause.

"Last year we raised money for the hospital, but we decided to donate to the Lung Foundation this year and will be changing next year, but it will still be related to helping research into lung diseases."

Family and friends of Mrs Willoughby-Doyle gathered at Marsh Lane on Saturday afternoon where raffles and other fundraisers took place.

The mother-of-three used to play darts for the county and it was while she was playing in various competitions she met Mr Willoughby. They married on March 22, 1996.

Mr Willoughby described his wife as the "life and soul of the party" and said he and her sons had to stick together through her illness and following her death.

The Lung Foundation offers support to people suffering with lung conditions, but also invests into research for treatments and cures.

Mr Willoughby thanked Oxford City for allowing his family and friends to host the fundraiser.

He added: "The club have been great, I would like to say a big thank you to Kevin James who works with the youth team there, he help us out a lot.

"I would also like to thank all the staff at Oxford City and the people could helped us sell raffle tickets."