Son of former Wales and Manchester United striker Mark Hughes died of sudden death syndrome

The son of Manchester United and Wales footballer, Mark Hughes, died from "sudden adult death syndrome", an inquest heard.

Alex Hughes was found collapsed in the bedroom of his home in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in June last year by his sons, Cheshire Coroner's Court heard.

Paramedics were called and tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Hughes, 38, was head of player recruitment at League Two side, Grimsby Town, having previously worked at clubs including Manchester City, Fulham, Blackburn and 1860 Munich.

He died from "sudden adult death syndrome", also known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS), a post-mortem found.

SADS is diagnosed when the cause of death cannot be explained in a post-mortem examination because the structure of the heart appears normal.

It affects around 500 people in the UK every year and the British Heart Foundation said SADS "usually happens when a dangerously abnormal heart rhythm goes untreated and leads to a cardiac arrest".

The foundation added that inherited heart conditions are "often the cause of SADS if the person who has it doesn't know they do".

These conditions can include long QT syndrome (LQTS) and progressive cardiac conduction defect (PCCD), which both involve problems with electrical signals getting to the heart, as well as heart rhythm disorders Brugada syndrome and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT).

Former striker Mark Hughes said he and his family were "heartbroken" following the sudden death of his son.

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In a statement released through the League Managers Association, the former Manchester City, Stoke and Blackburn boss said: "Jill and I are totally heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved son Alex.

"Alex was a wonderful son, brother to Curtis and Xenna, devoted husband and father to Jessica and their two beautiful children Sebastian and Leonardo.

"Alex was player recruitment lead at Grimsby Town FC, and had many good friends and colleagues. He will be so deeply missed by us all."

Mr Hughes had a brief playing career at Stockport and Wrexham, before joining Blackburn in 2007 as a performance analyst during his father's time as manager.

He then followed his father to Manchester City in 2008 and worked with him again at Fulham before continuing his career abroad.

After stints at Morecambe and National League side, AFC Fylde in Lancashire, he joined Grimsby in 2025.

(c) Sky News 2026: Son of former Wales and Manchester United striker Mark Hughes died of sudden death syndrome