A father has paid tribute to his “perfect son” who died after a freak accident during hockey training last week.

Tom Wilson, who was 22, died after being struck on the head by a stick while training at Old Loughtonians Hockey Club in Luxborough Lane, Chigwell, on Tuesday (December 8).

Despite desperate attempts from doctors and teammates to save his life, he sadly passed away on Wednesday at London Whitechapel Hospital.

“He was the perfect gentleman and the perfect son for me and my wife Lisa,” said his father Graham Wilson, himself a hockey journalist and chairman of the Hockey Writers’ Club.

“He was an absolutely beautiful young gentleman, a wonderful boy and a beautiful gentleman.

“Considerate, kind and aware, he was brought up in a very special family and with a lovely sister Pippa who misses him very much already.

“We have had a sad, sad week and we are trying to get as much positives out of this tragic event as we can.

“We are a hockey family, we were both brought up at the Havering Hockey Club in Hornchurch and from crawling on the ground of the pavilion he grew to be a find young man.”

After studying business and sport management at Nottingham Trent University, Tom was training as a junior surveyor and lived in London with his cousin.

While at university, he put himself on the organ donor register – something that will now save the lives of many others, said his father.

“We are just hoping that this can help others live their lives as best they can, that is some positive.”

He added: “The hockey family is a massive one, and we are just so glad Tom was a part of that and he died playing the game he loved.”

Old Loughtonians paid tribute to Tom, calling him a key member of the first men’s team and saying he was “a very popular young man who was a much admired role model for our younger players.”

Havering Hockey Club, where he learned the sport from the age of five, said: “Many of our members had known Tom since he was born, several of his school friends are past and current players and this tragedy has hit us all hard.

“He was such a lovely lad, a credit to his family who were so proud of him.

“Our thoughts are with Graham, Lisa, Pippa, Ray, girlfriend Daisy and the rest of the family at this time.”