lit a candle 2h ago39. My brother in law went the same way, sudden, no warning, everyone said he looked fine the week before. Reading this on the news tonight knocked the wind out of me. Two little girls left without their dad. Sending love to Laura.
Their story
Doug Loft was an English professional footballer whose 18-year career took him from non-League Hastings United to the Championship with Brighton & Hove Albion, and then to Port Vale, where he became Player of the Year and the captain of a promotion-winning side. A versatile, hard-working midfielder who could also…
Doug Loft was an English professional footballer whose 18-year career took him from non-League Hastings United to the Championship with Brighton & Hove Albion, and then to Port Vale, where he became Player of the Year and the captain of a promotion-winning side. A versatile, hard-working midfielder who could also fill in at left-back, he made 430 league and cup appearances and scored 32 goals for clubs including Gillingham, Colchester United, Shrewsbury Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, Billericay Town and Tonbridge Angels. His death at the age of 39 was announced by his former clubs on 12 October 2026. Gillingham said he died suddenly following a medical emergency over the weekend.
Douglas James Loft was born on 25 December 1986 in Maidstone, Kent. A former England Schoolboy international, he began his senior football at Hastings United before Brighton & Hove Albion signed him in January 2006. He made his professional debut for Mark McGhee's side as a 90th-minute substitute in a goalless Championship draw with Preston North End on 11 March 2006, and in only his third game he scored a consolation goal in a 5-1 home defeat by Stoke City on 30 April 2006. He remained on the fringes of the Brighton first team, earning new one-year deals in 2007 and 2008, and impressed on loan at League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge in early 2009 before being recalled by Russell Slade.
Released by Brighton in May 2009, Loft signed a two-year contract with Port Vale in June 2009, reuniting with his former Brighton manager Micky Adams. It was at Vale Park that he found regular first-team football. Injuries tested him early, including broken ribs and a collapsed lung at the start of the 2010-11 season, but he earned a new two-year deal in May 2011. He started 2011-12 with four goals in six games, earning a nomination for League Two Player of the Month for August, and finished the campaign with five goals in 46 appearances. Supporters voted him Port Vale's Player of the Year, and he also collected the Away Travel Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Season awards.
In July 2012 Adams made him club captain following the departure of Marc Richards. Loft wore the armband as Port Vale finished third in League Two in 2012-13 and won promotion to League One, a season that included a 25-yard strike at Oxford United's Kassam Stadium. He enjoyed his most prolific season in 2013-14, with nine goals in 43 league and cup appearances, until an April 2014 training ground altercation with teammate Daniel Jones left him with a broken cheekbone. Adams stressed that Loft was the innocent party, and Jones was sacked after a club investigation. In February 2020, readers of The Sentinel voted him into Port Vale's team of the 2010s.
In June 2014 Loft turned down a new contract at Port Vale to return to his home county of Kent with his young family, joining Gillingham on a free transfer. He was immediately named club captain and made 42 appearances in his first season. Hamstring and Achilles problems restricted him in 2015-16, and he was released in May 2016 after 70 games for the club. He signed a two-year deal with Colchester United in July 2016, but injuries again limited his appearances, and manager John McGreal said the club "only ever saw glimpses of him because of his injury problems."
Loft joined Shrewsbury Town in July 2018 after impressing John Askey in pre-season, scored in the EFL Trophy against Walsall, and returned to Dagenham & Redbridge on loan under Peter Taylor in January 2019. He then dropped into the National League South with Billericay Town in July 2019, playing through two seasons disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2021 he briefly signed for Margate before moving to Tonbridge Angels, where he played 27 games in 2021-22 before a ruptured Achilles at the end of August 2022 ended his season.
Teammates and managers consistently praised his attitude. Port Vale teammate Gareth Owen called him one of the fittest players at the club with "a good footballing brain," and Adams said he was happy to sacrifice his natural position to help the team. Loft said himself that he was "willing to play anywhere."
Loft was married to Laura, and the couple had two daughters, Freya and Amelie. Port Vale, Gillingham, Billericay Town and Tonbridge Angels all paid tribute after his death. Tonbridge Angels chair Sophie Purves called him "a true professional" and "a really wonderful person," and Port Vale requested permission from the EFL for black armbands and a minute's silence before their game against Chesterfield. The exact date and place of his death and the specific medical cause have not been made public.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia (Doug Loft, CC BY-SA 4.0); Port Vale FC; Gillingham FC; KentOnline; BBC Sport; Billericay Town FC; BBC Radio Stoke. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“I'm willing to play anywhere and I'm happy to play there until Lee Collins gets back. It's not my favourite position on the pitch but I'm happy to play there.”
Doug Loft to BBC Radio Stoke, January 2012, on covering at left-back during Port Vale's injury crisis (BBC Sport).
“We've got a few who have got to play a little bit out of position because of our injuries, but we've got a good enough squad, where people can play in different positions.”
Doug Loft, BBC Sport, January 2012.
“Doug's one of those lads who wants to do well for himself but, more importantly, he wants to do well for the team.”
Port Vale manager Micky Adams to BBC Radio Stoke, January 2012.
“He's got a good footballing brain and I like having him outside me (at wing-back) because he always wants the ball and I know he'll do his defensive duties as well.”
Port Vale teammate Gareth Owen, BBC Sport, November 2010.
“Loft's leadership, passion and dedication to the badge helped establish him as a firm favourite, and his contribution to that promotion-winning side will forever remain part of the club's history.”
Port Vale FC tribute, 12 October 2026.
“Doug was a true professional at Tonbridge Angels, a very talented player, and a really wonderful person.”
Tonbridge Angels chair Sophie Purves, quoted by KentOnline, October 2026.
Photos
1Doug Loft playing for Port Vale against Northampton Town, April 2013
Apr 2013 · by People Forever
so sorry Julie, that's exactly how it happens, no warning at all