A former footballer died after becoming squashed between his mobility scooter and a garden wall after a fall on the way home from the pub, an inquest has heard. 

Roy Rix, who played for Cambridge and King's Lynn, was found by neighbours trapped and on the floor outside his home on Causeway Close, off Heigham Street, Norwich, on November 23 last year. 

The 79-year-old retired scrap metal dealer is believed to have been there since returning from the pub the previous night. 

He was taken by ambulance to the Norwich and Norwich Hospital at around 11.30am. 

Initially, Mr Rix responded well to treatment and was due to be discharged just days before his 80th birthday. 

However, on December 17, he went into respiratory arrest and died later that day. 

An inquest into his death was held at Norfolk Coroner’s Court, based at County Hall in Norwich, on March 19. 

A friend of more than 52 years, William Brazil, paid tribute and said Mr Rix would often describe him as “the son he never had”.

He said: “Roy used to like to go to the pub and would sit and have a beer with his sandwiches.  

“He loved to watch Emmerdale and when the pub closed, he would go home.”

Mr Brazil had known Mr Rix from the age of 12, when he used to help him at his scrap metal yard. 

He said that Mr Rix had played on the wing for Cambridge and King’s Lynn. 

Area coroner, Samantha Goward, confirmed the primary medical cause of death was bronchopneumonia. 

She recorded a short form conclusion of “natural causes contributed to by the effects of a fall and long lie.” 

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