Hartlepool fan finds new home for his 40-year-old collection of football programmes

The Mail told last week how Keith Laundon, 74, who lives in Brighton, wished to give away his treasured collection of programmes collected by him and his late father from the 1970s to the 2000s.

Keith, who has followed Hartlepool since he was a child, recently decided to declutter his home after some health scares.

Following his appeal, Keith has offered to give the collection to a man who contacted him whose father in law is a season ticket holder and is currently unwell.

He was also contacted by several interested people from as far away as Australia and America.

Keith said: “I also was amazed to have had a very nice text from Brian Honour the ex Pools player.”

Among the collection was the programme for Honour’s testimonial match against Newcastle in 1995.

A number of programmes from the seventies belonged to Keith’s father James, known as Les who was born in Hartlepool and settled in Brighton.

There were also several from FA cup games against teams including Spurs and Fulham, and Pools’ memorable 2005 play off final at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Keith said: “My next step is, providing my health stays OK and my son will bring me up, to see a game at home in Hartlepool probably for their last home game.”

He last visited Victoria Park in Hartlepool’s last season in the league before being relegated in 2017.

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