As Hartlepool United supporters prepare for the long trip to Cardiff, Paul Willis and Stuart Mackintosh look at the play-off fever engulfing the town.

Unfashionable in the eyes of many football followers and unfancied in the minds of the bookies, the minnows of Hartlepool United have defied the odds to stand on the brink of making history.

Tomorrow, the club will battle on one of British sport's grandest stages for the right to face the likes of Leeds United and Southampton next season.

More than 15,000 supporters, about 18 per cent of the town's population, will head to the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, for the League One play-off final between Hartlepool and Sheffield Wednesday.

It is the biggest game the North-East club has been involved in -its big chance to enter the Championship for the first time -and something that has got the entire town buzzing.

Hartlepool is awash with the colours sported by its heroes from Victoria Park.

After a nailbiting semi-final victory over Tranmere Rovers, football fever is in evidence everywhere.

Flags, scarves and shirts are being worn with pride, cars and houses are decked in blue and white.

At the Home Bakery, in Raby Road, customers have been snapping up a new range of treats.

Traditional gingerbread men have been replaced by one-off Poolie Bears, coated in blue and white icing.

Boydie Burgers -named in honour of free-scoring frontman Adam Boyd -are also doing a roaring trade.

Shopworker Kirsten Boucher said: "The gingerbread bears have been really popular. We cannot make them fast enough because the school kids come in here on a lunchtime and just snap them up."

Banners, balloons, footballs and, of course, monkeys are displayed in shops across the town. The Middleton Grange Shopping Centre is running a competition for the best-decorated business.

Residents have also been getting into the spirit, with the front of one household on the Headland decorated in Pools colours.

The expectant crowd heading for Wales will include the town's great and good, the young and old.

Toddlers at the Little People Day Nursery have been kitted out in blue and white from head to toe this week as they get ready for the big day.

Senior manager Gillian Hargin said: "The children have all been very excited by what is going on.

"They have been learning the football songs, and some of them will be going down to watch.

"It is a really big day for the town, and it is nice to get into the spirit of things.

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so I think everyone is determined to make the most of it."

The town's MP, Iain Wright, said: "I am going down with my dad, my brother and my son. We are looking forward to it immensely. Every single car has got Pools flags on, almost every house has banners saying 'Good Luck Pools' or 'Come on Pools'.

"The whole place is buzzing. This is not just about football, it is about the town's morale and it's almost a symbol of how Hartlepool is a town really going places."

Meanwhile, police have moved to allay fears that empty properties could be considered easy targets by burglars.

Police said there would be a significant presence in the town, while extra officers will be watching for trouble in pubs and clubs.

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