Former England Defender Terry Butcher 'Distraught' After Death of Son Christopher

Former England defender Terry Butcher is "distraught" after the death of his Army Captain son, Christopher. The 35-year-old had fought in Afghanistan and passed

Former England defender Terry Butcher is "distraught" after the death of his Army Captain son, Christopher.

The 35-year-old had fought in Afghanistan and passed away on Monday morning. His brother Edward has paid tribute to him and spoken of the grief felt by the entire family.

The thoughts of everyone at #RangersFC are with Terry Butcher and his family at this terribly sad time. pic.twitter.com/izLg40aRe8

— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) October 17, 2017

“It is with the up most sadness that I regret to say that my brother Christopher Butcher has passed away this morning," he said, quoted by The Sun.

“My older brother was the best brother I can ever of asked for and his death has hit the entire family hard.

“We know how greatly he was loved.”

A source said: “Terry is understandably distraught, as are the whole family. It has really rocked them.”

Alex Broadway/GettyImages

Butcher revealed three years ago that his son was struggling to cope with the effects of war having moved to Germany after fighting the Taliban.

He said at the time: “Unfortunately Chris is not in a good way right now.

“When he told me about going into that compound in Afghanistan, feeling the bullets pinging off his helmet, well...”

The 58-year-old struggled to hold himself together in the interview and spoke of how proud he was of his son.

Butcher was famed for playing with a head bandage on and a bloodied shirt during a 1989 World Cup qualifier against Sweden.