A Bradford Coroner has called for more protection for amateur rugby league players after a prop forward died following an accident during a match.

Christopher Brown, 24, of Cornwall Avenue, Keighley, fell and hit his head in a tackle during a game, on September 5, and was substituted. Saying he felt better he rejoined the game but later collapsed.

The match had been his first for more than a year, as he had been working out of the area.

Mr Brown, who played for Silsden Park Rangers, suffered a brain injury from which he died in hospital 11 days later.

At an inquest in Bradford today, Coroner Roger Whittaker said he felt Mr Brown should not have been allowed to return to play and would write to the Rugby Football League (RFL) to express his worries.

“As the game wore on without him rejoining it seems there was demonstrable improvements,” said Mr Whittaker.

“I cannot avoid the view that if he had not gone back on to the field of play the improvement might have been sustained rather than aggravated.

“I am appalled to hear that contrary to the rules demonstrated to me today there was no trained first-aider there who could assess whether or not the player was fit to return to play or not.

“It is clear no assessment was done on Chris’s first injury. I am sure he would not have been allowed back on.”

Mr Whittaker, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, was also concerned that the referee had seen Mr Brown staggering on the field but had no power to stop him from playing. He said he was also concerned that the referee had been urged to continue the game after Mr Brown came off the pitch and that she was the only official.

He said: “Steps need to be taken to ameliorate that situation and if any good thing is to come out of this tragedy I believe the RFL should take action to ensure there is proper protection for people who play rugby at this level.

“I will be writing to the RFL indicating these concerns and asking them to deal with this situation and rectify it.”

After the hearing Mr Brown’s father, Steven Brown, said: “We had some concerns about what happened. The Coroner appears to have addressed those and we are pleased about that.

“Hopefully it may benefit other people.”

His mother, Linda Brown, said: “We think the Coroner was right with his concerns. Chris had a huge amount of friends, he was a big guy with a big character.

“The apple of his eye was his nephew Lennon. His second nephew was born two days before he died.”

Silsden Park treasurer Les Pyrah said: “Chris was a fantastic lad, a fun-loving guy. He was the life and soul of the club.”