Grandad marks 80th by umpiring cricket match

A man has celebrated his 80th birthday by umpiring a cricket match - with all the players on one team related to him.

The family of Ross Coad, who lives in Zeals, near Mere in Wiltshire, gathered from all corners of the country at the Fonthill Park Cricket Club to mark the special occasion.

Players between the ages of 15 to 51 took part, with Coad acting as umpire. Grandpa's People battled hard and scored 103 runs, but lost to the Fonthill Family, who put 188 runs on the board to win.

"It was a tremendous day," said Coad, who previously lived in Somerset, where he played with a club called the Keinton Casuals. "Life is a party, that is the essence of our family."

Coad, who used to work at a factory in Glastonbury which produced mini-skirts, added: "There was much amusement at the various abilities of each cousin or brother taking part.

"As a family, we do like to have a gathering of the clan whenever we can. We've been talking about this for the last year and my kids grew up witnessing my love of cricket - so this seemed appropriate."

Each player from the Coad family was gifted a cap which had "Grandpa's people" on one side and "80" on the other.

The match began at 18:00BST when most of the ground was in shade, much to the appreciation of the cricketers.

Dexter Coad, 20, travelled from Yorkshire to take part in his grandfather's birthday celebrations.

He said: "Everyone turned up from far and wide, I had a seven-hour journey down.

"Fonthill batted first and had a good score of 188, I think grandpa gave them some generous decisions.

"He umpired the entire game and it was great. We made sure to have time for some celebratory beers once it was over as well."

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