A weekly newspaper has secured a football fan who suffers from Parkinsons Disease a lift to matches after his advertisement received thousands of responses.

Christopher Coxhead advertised in the Southport & Formby edition of The Champion to ask if any fellow Burnley FC supporters in the area could drive him to games.

The advert placed by the pensioner received more than 43,000 ‘likes’ after being posted on Twitter, with hundreds of comments from people offering to either give him a lift or pay for the petrol.

Mr Coxhead has now arranged his lift from a nearby Burnley supporter, while club chairman Alan Pace also offered him a VIP experience at their Turf Moor home ground.

The appeal’s success provided a splash for the Champion last week.

Mr Coxhead told the paper: “When I took out the advert all I wanted was a lift! I’m on a trial for Parkinson’s drugs so I decided to take out the advert because I thought it was the sensible thing to do because the drugs can make me feel weak so I didn’t want to drive so far.

“It was on Saturday morning that I realised how big the reaction had been. I couldn’t believe all the messages and best wishes from so many people.”

Champion group editor Malcolm Hindle told HTFP: “We’re delighted Christopher’s ad has received so much positive attention.

“Our readers and advertisers have always known just how much response our stories and adverts attract, and this further endorses the power of the Champion.

“It just goes to show the incredible force a local newspaper can be, both in its own community and even further afield as Chris’s story shows.”