Tributes paid to Walsall cricketer who died after falling from roof
Tributes have been paid to an 'always singing and dancing' Walsall cricketer who died after falling from a roof.
Stuart Clarke, 33, from the Beechdale Estate in the borough, plunged around 10 feet from the roof of Bloxwich Sports Club on Stafford Road in Bloxwich last month.
He was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and despite a 10-day long battle he died last Wednesday.
Tributes have poured in for Mr Clarke who was a member of Bloxwich Cricket Club, based at the Stafford Road club, and spent three years captaining the first eleven.
Bloxwich and all the other clubs throughout the Staffordshire Club Cricket Championship held a minute's applause before their games started over the weekend.
Mark Allcock, the chair of Bloxwich Cricket Club, said: "Everybody throughout the Staffs league held a minute's applause for him over the weekend. It is what he would have wanted, lots of noise.
"He never had a bad word to say against anybody. He was always singing and dancing and always had time for people. It is a big loss for the club, he was always smiling.
"Stuart has been a member of the cricket club since he was 14. He has grown through the ranks playing junior cricket and then senior cricket. He was club captain for three years and helped the first eleven gain promotion back to the first division.
"He was a close friend of mine. As chairman of the club I worked a lot with Stuart. He coached at the cricket club but he was a bit of an all-round sportsman. He played snooker and bowls for the sports club."
Asked about the incident which led to Mr Clarke's death, which took place just after 2am on Sunday April 23, Mr Allcock added: "It was an unfortunate accident what happened. As far as we are aware he was just coming down on some step ladders and dropped. That is all we know as a club.
"The police came out when the accident happened because the club has been broken into through the roof before. They thought it might have been a burglar who fell but that is the only time they have been in touch."
Since the news broke of Mr Clarke's death, cricket clubs from all over the region have paid tribute to him.
Springvale Cricket Club in Bilston said: "We have received very sad news that Stuart Clarke, a member of Bloxwich Cricket Club, has unfortunately passed away.
"Many of our current players would have played against Stuart in recent matches against Bloxwich which were always hard-fought competitive games but always ended with a beer at the end.
"As a club we would like to send our condolences to the family and friends of Stuart Clarke."
West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed it was called to the Stafford Road sports club just after 2am on Sunday April 23. Paramedics found a man had fallen around 10 feet from a roof and sustained a serious head injury.
