DEVOTED dad Michael Arthur couldn’t stop smiling as he watched his three-year-old daughter Mya unwrap her birthday presents.

But just hours later, the family’s happiness was shattered when the 33-year-old suffered a sudden and fatal heart attack.

His sister Sara Malcolm yesterday paid tribute to a “smiley popular man” as she spoke of the family’s devastation.

The 45-year-old, of Ashby Road, Bicester, said: “We are totally devastated.

“We still can’t believe it happened.

“We are struggling. It has been really hard for all of us, including my mum and dad.

“Michael was a very big, smiley person who welcomed everybody and anybody.

“Mya has not been too bad, but she is very emotional at the moment.

“We have explained to her that Daddy has gone up in the sky and is now an angel is watching over her.

“She keeps asking for him, but she’s too young to take it all in.”

Mrs Malcolm said the family had been overwhelmed with messages from Mr Arthur’s friends, since he died last month. She said: “We set up a memorial page on Facebook and so many people made comments.

“He was so popular, more so than we rea-lised. He was very much liked.”

Now Mr Arthur’s family are planning a football tournament and fun day in memory of the avid Chelsea fan.

Former Cooper School pupil Mr Arthur, who was married to Pauline – known as Polly – and also had a son Logan, six months, was an IT worker for a contractor at Bicester Defence, Storage and Distribution Centre, at Arncott.

He was a big football fan, so much so, that mourners at his funeral wore football shirts in tribute, including that of his beloved club – Chelsea.

On Saturday, Mrs Malcolm and her husband Banjo will stage a football tournament and fun day in her brother’s memory at Steeple Aston Football Club, off Fir Lane – one of the clubs Mr Arthur played for.

His family have launched trust funds for his young children Mya and Logan in memory of Mr Arthur, and they hope to raise as much cash as possible for their futures.

Mrs Malcolm said: “My brother’s not around to do things parents normally do for their children, so we decided it would be nice to do something for the children.

“Just because he’s not around that’s not going to stop them from having what he would have provided for them later in life.

“This will be the first event, hopefully of many.”

The day kicks off at 9am until 6pm, and so far 10 teams have signed up for the 11-a-side tournament. There will also be games, a tombola, face painting, bouncy castle and raffle.

Mrs Malcolm’s step-son Sinclair Malcolm, 21, and his street dance group Trilogy, who took part in Sky TV talent shows Got to Dance and Dance Like Michael Jackson, will also perform at the event.

Any football teams who want to take part in the tournament, or businesses interested in setting up a stall at the event, should eamil banjo.malcolm@ntlworld.com