Pride Adron returns to Wembley as a mascot for the England team

At times, 81-year-old Adron O'Connor can still hear the roar of 100,000 fans going berserk at Wembley as England triumphed in the 1966 World Cup Final.

- Angus MCINTYRE

Adron O'Connor at his home in Bristol with his son Darren O'Connor and wife Anna Long

(Pic: Paul Gillis)

“That was an experience I'll never have again,” he says wistfully, as he recalls the friend he was with being so nervous he ripped his matchday programme to pieces before England eventually went on to win the match in extra time.

Adron, from Hengrove, was on the terraces that day, and has been a football fanatic his entire life. Now his struggles with Alzheimer’s disease mean that his memory comes and goes.

In a full-circle moment, Adron will tomorrow once again travel from Bristol to the national stadium to watch England take on Wales in a friendly. Although it might not match 1966, Adron will have the chance to walk onto Wembley’s hallowed turf as a mascot with the England team, thanks to a partnership between the Football Association and the Alzheimer’s Society, the UK's leading dementia charity.