A family has thanked the people they say saved the life of their beloved dad and grandad.

An air ambulance was forced to land in an Oxfordshire playing field after Ron Burnham, 82, collapsed while watching his 13-year-old grandson play football.

However, his daughter-in-law Rachael Burnham, 34, has said the help of the other spectators saved his life.

She said: “There were so many people helping us. I just wanted to thank everyone.

“I don’t think he would be with us now if it hadn’t been for what everyone did.”

Mr Burnham, of Heath Lane, Bladon, was watching his grandson Josh turn out for his team North Leigh FC against Bloxham FC when he was struck down with a heart complaint on Sunday, November 16.

His distraught daughter-in-law and his wife Mary, 80, rushed to help him.

But spectators at Bloxham’s home ground in Jubilee Park in Barley Close, Bloxham, near Banbury, gave him emergency resuscitation until the air ambulance arrived.

Mrs Burnham, of Church Road in Long Hanborough, said her father-in-law appeared fine during the first half of the game. She added: “It was during the second half that he fell ill. He just let out a cry and collapsed into a hedge.

Mr Burnham was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, on Sunday, November 16, where doctors discovered he had suffered an abnormal heart rhythm.

Mrs Burnham said: “When he came around the first thing he asked was what the score was.”