LEIGH rugby stars - past and present - are set to honour a player killed in a freak accident.

John Westhead, 34, died when he severed an artery in his arm after putting his hand through a pane of glass of a door at his plush detached home .

The father-of-three and his wife Jane, 32, had just arrived home from Christening celebrations at the Three Crowns pub on Chapel Street, Leigh, on Sunday night.

The former Great Britain under 21 international - who made 136 appearances for Leigh - was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital but died of a heart attack after losing too much blood.

And yesterday former rugby great Alex Murphy - who signed the player to Leigh when he was just a teenager - led the tributes to him.

Mr Murphy told the JOURNAL he would attend John's funeral adding: "He was a very, very good player.

"He was a lad who used to give 100 per cent every time he went on the field. He was a great lad and a great trainer. I was absolutely astounded to hear the news.

"He had a lot of fun and he was a coach's dream. I was shocked when I first heard what had happened and I'm still that way."

A minute's silence in John's memory was held at Hilton Park on Monday before the Centurion's match with Keighley. John signed professional forms for Leigh in February 1983 when he was just 17.

By the age of 20 he had clocked up 100 senior games for the club and played the last of his 136 games for the club in September 1990. He also made three appearances for Great Britain under-21s. Kevin Ashcroft, Leigh Centurions' commercial manager, said: "To say we're all devastated is the under-statement of the century.

"John was a quiet, unassuming lad who worked very hard in the business he had with his father.

"He was a good footballer, who played well above his weight but unfortunately suffered a bad shoulder injury.

"All in all he was a good prospect until that injury but I will always remember him as a dedicated trainer."

His brother Paul, 30, a professional singer currently appearing in Phantom of the Opera, revealed John's fatal injury happened as he vented his anger after struggling to unlock a door at his home in Thorneycroft, Leigh.

He said: "They had had a lovely day at the Christening and had walked home with the kids. John could not open the door, he was struggling with the lock.

"Once he was through he took his anger out on the door. He was drunk though, that made him do it. He will be just so sorely missed by everybody."

And speaking at his home in Downall Green Road, Bryn, Wigan, John's father, William told of his son's sporting achievements.

Fighting back tears Mr Westhead, 55, who ran a scaffolding business with his son, said: "He was a great sportsman at whatever he chose to do.

"He was happiest playing sport, be it rugby, squash or training. He had just started training with Salford and was going to have a run-out with their A-team but he pulled his hamstring.

"He was a gentleman and he would help anybody out. Everybody would speak to him and he made time for them all.

"It's such a bad loss, so bad of a loss that I can't describe it. You couldn't get a better person than John. We were so proud of him." John's mother Carole and his siblings Paul, 30, and Emma, 20, are all still struggling to come to terms with his sudden death.

His widow Jane and daughters Gilly, two and Katy, one, and step-daughter Roya, 10, are currently being comforted by her parents Ian and Pat, who live in Holden Road, Leigh.

Mrs Westhead is still too upset to talk about the accident but her father Ian Benson told the JOURNAL: "We're all devastated.

"He was a hardworking, nice lad who had helped to build his business up very nicely."

Police, who were called to the scene at about midnight on Sunday, have described it as a "tragic accident".

The funeral will take place at midday on Tuesday June 6 at St Joseph's RC Church on Mather Lane, Leigh.

Yesterday afternoon an inquest into Mr Westhead's death was opened and adjourned.