'England's World Cup win wiped my parking ticket'

A football fan who thought it was all over when wardens approached him about dodgy parking near Wembley 60 years ago has shared how he was let off amid the joy of England's World Cup win.

Tony Bywater was 26 when he attended the '66 final.

He travelled from Shrewsbury to London and sat directly behind the goal as Geoff Hurst completed his hat trick to secure England's victory.

"I was very young then," he said. "I didn't know where to park, so I just parked anywhere and when I got back the guy in charge said 'we're not going to fine you because England have won the World Cup'... Everyone was so happy they let me off. I drove back to Shrewsbury where the celebrations continued."

Bywater had purchased 10 tickets to different games across the tournament to qualify for a ticket to the final, driving to most after work.

Now 86, he described the tournament as "the most wonderful football experience of my whole life".

"It was tremendous, the atmosphere was great."

As well as the final, and along with three of his friends, Bywater witnessed Pelé famously get injured at Goodison Park.

He added that he would always remember a game between Portugal and Korea DPR where Portugal came back to score five goals in the second half, to win 3-5.

Bywater said while he did not think many England supporters expected the team to win the trophy in 2026, he said he had high hopes and believed the team could "go all the way".

Bywater is the chairman of Salop Leisure, a Shropshire caravan and motorhome company, which said it planned to donate £50 to Severn Hospice for every goal England scored this tournament.

"We hope it will be a lot of money. Kane is probably one of the best players in the world, we've got him down to score a couple of hat tricks, but we'll have to wait and see."

The company added that it planned to double the total raised if the team won the tournament.

Jenny Bean, fundraising manager at Severn Hospice, said every England goal would help to raise "vital funds".

She added that support from businesses like Salop Leisure was "invaluable" and enabled the hospice to continue providing care.

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