Unlucky football fan a merry Miller once again thanks to Advertiser

Paul (58) and wife Marie (45) made it all the way to their Wembley seats to watch Rotherham United in the League One playoff final — but were both struck down with food poisoning just before kick-off.

The “heart-broken” couple missed all the action and couldn’t even watch the game from their sick bed.

Paul has been appealing for photographs of the big day and, after hearing about his bad luck, Rotherham Advertiser photographer Steve Mettam presented him with some special snaps from the victorious day.

A surprised Paul said: “The pictures gave me a shiver, I could feel myself getting a bit emotional — they are superb.

“Now I finally have some mementoes from the big occasion, I really appreciate it.”

Paul said he and Marie had travelled to Wembley the day before the game and had enjoyed some sightseeing.

But as he walked down Wembley Way the following day, he began to feel hot and nauseous.

“When I got through the turnstiles it worsened,” he said, “And just before kick-off I decided I should go back to the hotel.

“As we were making our way out, one of the security staff asked why we were leaving. 

“After I explained the situation, she suggested that I might be better off seeing one of the first aid team and escorted us to their room.”

While he was being treated Marie, who had never been to Wembley before, was then struck down with food poisoning.

Paul said: “We took the heart-breaking decision to go back to our hotel room, got into bed at 3.30pm and didn’t get up until 8.30am on Monday morning, apart from to use the bathroom. 

“What made it even worse was the fact that the hotel room didn’t have Sky TV, so we couldn’t even watch the game from our sick bed.”

The couple were resigned to watching the match on repeat when they returned to their Dalton home on Bank Holiday Monday.

“All I had from the day was the programme, so these Advertiser photographs are very special,” said Paul.