A day for clowning around for Hartlepool fans

Hundreds of clowns from the town descended on Merseyside as part of what has become an annual tradition.

Clowns of all ages, shapes, sizes and colours took part in the event and a great day was had by all.

The clown days followed on from other Hartlepool United dress up days, which have included Smurfs, penguins, Thunder Birds, Oompa Lumpas and Where’s Wally in recent years.

It has become a tradition for hundreds of Pools fans travelling to the last away game of the season to don fancy dress costumes to see the season off in style.

This year was the turn of the clown-themed Pools fans making the journey to Prenton Park for their match against Tranmere Rovers FC, where they won 2-1.

In past years Pools fans have attracted media attention nationwide and this year the game was set to be screened on TV, so supporters were keen to make an impression.

Organiser, John Pearson, 59 from Hartlepool, said: “We decided on a clown theme as we thought it would be a colourful and cheerful way to end the season.

“We were trying to lighten the mood after the season we have had.

“We chose clowns as it is an easy theme for people to join in with if they want to."

He said supporters were encouraged to wear any type of clown outfit they liked and they ranged from the funny to the quite scary.

John said the whole idea was to put a smile on the faces of everyone who came across the supporters.

The fun-filled idea finished off what has been a turbulent year for the club which had been on the verge of going into administration.