AN internal inquiry has been launched after an amateur footballer died just hours after being discharged from Watford General Hospital's accident and emergency unit.

Mr Darren Burr, 23, was taken to the casualty department at Watford General after being kneed in the stomach during a football match on Thursday.

He was playing for Colney Athletic in a friendly against the Kings Head pub, London Colney, when the accident happened.

He was discharged by a casualty doctor but, once he was home, his condition rapidly deteriorated.

His aunt, Mrs Kathy Harvey, said her nephew lived for football, his family and his friends.

She said: "Darren was not given any pain relief and was told if he was in pain to call his doctor. Darren was a very strong boy but he was in tears with the pain he was enduring.

"He went to bed when he got home and told his friends 'They say there's nothing wrong but I know there is'.

"He was clammy and he had pins and needles we thought he was in some sort of shock and called an ambulance.

"When he lay there, he said he knew he was dying and, before the ambulance reached Hemel Hempstead Hospital, he had passed away.

"They tried to resuscitate him for 45 minutes but it was too late. The post-mortem results came through on Tuesday and concluded Darren had a ruptured bowel and he had died of peritonitis."

A spokesman for West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust said: "We deeply regret the death of this young man and offer our sincere condolences to his family. The trust has already begun an internal investigation into this incident."

Local health campaigner Mrs Jean Brett said: "The tragic loss of this young life soon after having been discharged by a doctor in Watford General's Accident and Emergency department raises the gravest concerns.

"One's sympathy goes to the family but it is clearly inappropriate for there only to be an internal inquiry by the trust into this matter. There must be an independent element."

The spokesman for the trust said: "It is difficult to say whether there will be an independent inquiry without knowing the results of the inquest or of our own investigation.

"We will wait for the results of those before making any further decisions."

Talking about the tackle that led to Darren's injury, Mrs Harvey said: "The young lad was not at fault. It was a 50:50 tackle and the whole family would like to reassure the boy he has not done anything wrong."

Through Mrs Harvey, Darren's mother Carol said: "He was a fantastic son. The way he died was a terrible accident. He lived for his football and he died playing the game he loved. He would want everyone to carry on playing because football was his life."

Darren's father, Mr Raymond Burr, said: "He loved his football and his family. He really was a great kid, he looked after everyone, his mates and his family. He will be very sadly missed."

Darren also leaves two brothers, Kevin, 23, and Mark,19.