Tributes as football writer loses cancer fight aged 40

Mr Fullbrook, from Staines, Surrey, attended Hull University and began his journalism career at the Hull Daily Mail, where he covered Hull City, before moving to report on Midlands football for the Birmingham Evening Mail and then the Daily Star.

He moved to London to work for the Sunday Mirror before returning to the Daily Star in 2000 as chief football writer. Aged 28, he was by some years the youngest in such a position on any Fleet Street newspaper and made an immediate impact.

As a regular and forthright guest on TV football programmes, he became a familiar figure to many fans and players – David Beckham and Frank Lampard both contacted him during his illness.

Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand wrote on Twitter: “RIP Danny Fullbrook, thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Adrian Bevington, the managing director of Club England, said: “He was a very well-respected individual and a real character around the football media circuit who will be greatly missed by everybody. To lose someone so young is the saddest part of this.”