A LIFELONG football fan died just minutes after he arrived for his team's final game of the season.

Grandfather Ken Monk, a Darlington FC season ticket holder, died suddenly in the club's Corner Bar on Saturday, a day after he celebrated his wife's 80th birthday.

Mr Monk, 75, had been watching the Quakers since he moved to the town more than 40 years ago.

His son, Martin, said yesterday: "It was where he would have wanted to be - at the ground. If it had to happen anywhere, that was the best place for him."

Mr Monk and 11-year-old granddaughter Victoria went to home games together as season-ticket holders.

They and other family members had gone to Darlington's final league game of the season, against Stockport County, at the 96.6TFM Arena.

Only the night before, they had all been celebrating the 80th birthday of Mr Monk's wife's, Olive, at the Fox and Hounds pub, in Neasham.

His eldest sister, Mary, died two weeks previously, a day before her 80th birthday.

Martin said: "Dad was a lifelong Darlington supporter, but had stopped going for a few years.

"He used to go to the old ground, Feethams, when he was younger. He started going again on and off. He really was a dedicated supporter."

His funeral on Tuesday will include a wreath in the shape of a black-and-white football. The family hopes to scatter his ashes at the 96.6TFM Arena.

Mr Monk was the second eldest born to Harry and Harriet Monk in Thornley, east Durham.

He followed his father as a miner then joined the RAF, working in the stores and winning a Suez Campaign medal during the 1950s.

While he was home on leave, he met his wife at a dance in Thornley. They married in 1956 and moved to Crook.

They moved to Darlington when Mr Monk started work in the factory at Paton and Baldwins. He was employed there and at Rothmans in the town for the rest of his working life.

Mr Monk, a black belt in judo, led judo classes at the Koizumi Judo Club and at Rothmans.

He and his wife were fundraisers for the Seventh Darlington Sea Scouts and won awards for their work with the organisation.

His son said: "He was a great character. He would do anything for you."

He leaves three sons, Michael, Kenneth and Martin, and six grandchildren.

A Darlington FC spokesman said: "We would like to pass on our deepest condolences to Mr Monk's family and friends. It is always very sad when a loyal supporter of the club passes away especially as Ken collapsed in the Corner Bar just before the game against Stockport."