Football supporters were treated to a special edition of a regional daily newspaper produced in memory of a sporting hero.

The Birmingham Mail sold the commemorative edition outside West Bromwich Albion’s ground, The Hawthorns, when the club marked Jeff Astle Day on Saturday, with proceeds going to charity.

Jeff, who scored the winning goal for Albion in the 1968 FA Cup final and also played for England, died from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) in 2002 at the age of just 59.

Saturday’s match against Leicester City marked the launch of the Jeff Astle Foundation, a charity aimed at raising awareness of CTE.

The souvenir edition included a four-page commemorative pull-out, and the total profit of all copies sold at the stadium will be doubled by the Mail and donated to the foundation.

The publication follows an interview last week between the Mail’s Albion writer Bill Howell and Jeff’s son Dawn, which provided a front page story for the newspaper, pictured below.

Jeff’s family had launched a ‘Justice for Jeff’ campaign, to call for an independent inquiry into a possible link between heading footballs and degenerative brain diseases such as CTE.

Steve Wollaston, the Mail’s football content editor, said: “Jeff Astle was a truly iconic figure, not only in West Midlands football but also in our national game.

“Jeff was a big character on and off the field and he is rightly adored by the Baggies faithful.

“Last week our West Brom writer Bill Howell spoke to the daughter of Jeff Astle resulting in a front page story that revealed the stark reality of his suffering and untimely death.

“We have supported the Astle family’s ‘Justice For Jeff’ campaign from the very start and although Saturday’s game against Leicester marked the end of the ‘Justice for Jeff’ campaign it marked the birth of the Foundation.”