Tony Blair and Prince William were among prominent figures to express sadness yesterday after the sudden death of Alan Ball, the youngest member of the England football team which won the World Cup in 1966.

Ball died after suffering a heart attack as he tackled a fire in a compost heap in the garden of his home in Hampshire. He was 61.

He was found in his garden at 12.15am. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

Mr Blair's spokesman said the Prime Minister was "saddened by Alan Ball's death, and hugely admired him".

A Clarence House spokeswoman said the "thoughts and prayers" of Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, were with the player's family and his former team-mates and many friends throughout football.

Sir Geoff Hurst, who scored a hat-trick in the Wembley final against West Germany, led tributes from the footballing world for Ball.

Sir Geoff said he had spoken to other players from the team to pass on the sad news and added: "We are all totally devastated."

Ball was often the scourge of the Scots during his many encounters with Scotland at Hampden and Wembley.

However, many Scots fans agreed they would have embraced the player, had he been born on the Scottish side of the Border.

Former Lisbon Lion Tommy Gemmell, who was in the Scotland side at Wembley in 1967 which became the first team to defeat England after their 1966 success, said last night: "A better opponent and a better person you couldn't find. He was superb."

Sir Bobby Charlton said he was "shocked and saddened" by the death of his World Cup team-mate.

Ball's son Jimmy, 31, and daughters Mandy Byrne, 39, and Keely Allan, 35, yesterday said in a statement that the world of football had lost a great person.