A minute’s silence will be held before a football match in tribute to a father of three who died in a road accident at the weekend.

Pedestrian Gwilym Rhys Jones, 45, was struck by a car on the Oswestry-bound A483 just before the Rhostyllen and Croesfoel slip road on Sunday at 11pm. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Jones, a taxi driver, lived in Gate Road, Froncysyllte, and was a popular figure in the village.

The community has been left deeply shocked by his death and many tributes have been paid by residents.

One of Mr Jones’ sons, David, is a full back for Rhos Aelwyd Under 16s and the team is scheduled to play at home against Brymbo this evening. Joint managers Huw Rowlands and Huw Robertson said that as a mark of respect for Mr Jones there would be a minute’s silence before the game.

Mr Robertson said: “I have known him for years. He was very supportive of Dave. He was a lovely man who always had a smile on his face.

“Dave came on as a substitute for Rhos Aelwyd when we won our League Cup final match on Sunday at The Racecourse and Gwilym was delighted.”

Mr Robertson’s sentiments were echoed by Mr Rowlands who said: “Dave played in defence for the last 30 minutes and had a good game.

“Gwilym was there to see it and we had a chat after the match. He was his usual bubbly self and full of smiles, very happy to have seen his son play football at The Racecourse.”

Mr Jones’s friend, Rob Butterton, spoke from the Aqueduct Inn in Froncysyllte of his shock at his sudden death. He said Mr Jones loved football and was an avid supporter of Liverpool.

He said: “He was fantastic and always happy. He was just a hard-working family man.”

The driver of the car which struck Mr Jones, a woman in her sixties, phoned police after the accident. She was taken by ambulance to the Wrexham Maelor Hospital with minor injuries.

North Wales Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident or anyone who saw a male pedestrian in the area at about the time of the collision to contact them on their non-emergency 101 line.