THE father of a York City player who died after collapsing on the pitch has said more should be done by professional clubs to look out for heart problems in young players.

Vic Longhurst’s son, David, died in September 1990, aged 25, after he collapsed while playing for the club against Lincoln City.

A post-mortem examination showed he suffered from cardiomyopathy, a disease which leads to heart failure, but which can be caught early with an ultrasonic scan.

Mr Longurst senior, who lives in Corby, Northamptonshire, said he was travelling home from Scotland on the day of his son’s death, and had hoped to attend the match at Bootham Crescent, when his car broke down. He heard the tragic news on the radio.

He said: “If it hadn’t been for that breakdown, I would have been at the match. In my mind, I’m glad I wasn’t there, because it would have been even more devastating for us. They gave it out on the radio so we pulled in at the first petrol station to phone the club and that’s where we got the news.”

Last weekend, 23-year-old Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch at Tottenham’s White Hart Lane during an FA Cup quarter-final.

Muamba has since shown signs of improvement and has started breathing independently, although the cause of his cardiac arrest has not yet been confirmed.

Mr Longhurst said more should be done to raise awareness of the condition which took his son, and he called for routine ultrasonic heart screening for players.

He said: “Players in England don’t get scanned for heart problems, but they do in Italy and the USA. They have a medical which is basically their legs, knees, etc, but that’s it. If David had been playing in Italy before he went on the pitch or signed for a club, he’d have been scanned, which would have picked up the problem.

“I think all clubs should scan their players. Young players in this country go out, young and fit, but there’s always that one who has a heart problem and it needs to be picked up quicker.”

Muamba was “in effect dead” for almost 80 minutes, doctors said as they hailed his “miraculous” recovery.

The cardiologist who leapt from his seat in the crowd and rushed on to the pitch to help the Bolton footballer said he was already making jokes again while in intensive care.

Dr Andrew Deaner recalled his visit to Muamba after he had just woken up.

“I whispered into his ear ‘What’s your name?’,” he said, and the footballer gave his name.

Dr Deaner went on: “I said ‘I understand you’re a very good footballer’. And he said ‘I try’.”