A grandfather whose car collided head-on with a lorry, had suffered a suspected heart problem moments earlier.

George Wilson, 70, was pronounced dead after the crash that closed the A420 at Longcot, near Faringdon, for five hours on Tuesday.

But a post mortem examination into his death revealed he died of natural causes and not as a result of the accident.

Last night his daughter Emma, 38, paid tribute to her father, whom she believed had suffered a heart aneurysm. Mr Wilson was on his way home to Gloucester Street, Faringdon, from a nightshift at Asda in Swindon, where he worked as a warehouse forklift driver.

He also leaves behind his wife Marian, 66, son Martin, 35, from Highworth, and his son's children, Leo, three, and Freyacorr, two.

Miss Wilson, who lives in Bristol, was comforting her mother in Faringdon. She said her father had been suffering from a heart problem.

She said: "He was so generous and warm and very friendly and he was very well liked and respected in Faringdon.

"He worked very hard and would help anyone out. He will be sorely missed.

"He loved playing Aunt Sally and was on the local team. He also enjoyed watching sport, especially cricket - it was his favourite.

"When we were growing up, he was always ready to play. He was a great guy.

"We had a good life. He doted on his grandchildren too. They came over for one day every week. He was a real family man."

Mr Wilson was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, and had been in the RAF repairing aircraft engines, before taking on a number of other jobs.

He met his wife on the set of stage musical Oh! What a Lovely War, which had been showing at London's Wyndham Theatre, where he was working as a carpenter maintaining sets.

The couple moved to Faringdon in 1984.

Miss Wilson said: "His favourite job was being a herdsman.

"He did that for the longest and worked on farms around here and in Lechlade. He loved it.

"He had to get up really early in the morning to milk the cows."

Patrick Carthy, 60, of Doves Court, Faringdon, knew Mr Wilson for more than 30 years. He said: "I'm going to miss his company. He had an opinion on most things and he was very well travelled. He was well liked here."