THE son of a Blackburn Rovers cult hero has told how he was spat at by fellow fans and ejected from Ewood Park after being mistaken for a Manchester United supporter.

Life-long Rover Lee Brotherston, whose dad Noel clocked up 369 appearances for the club over a decade, said the fans acted like a "lynch mob" who left him feeling "very frightened".

Lee was sitting in the Blackburn End with his cousin Jonathan Taylor and friend Thomas Tucker, who had come over from Belfast to visit family and see the game.

When Louis Saha scored United's winning goal in the second half, he said Jonathan took a souvenir picture of United players celebrating in front of the stand.

Other Rovers fans nearby spotted this and mistook the trio for United fans, launching into a torrent of abuse and spitting at them, according to Lee.

Lee said he tried to explain who he was, but the situation escalated with more supporters taking part in the abuse, and stewards asked the trio to leave the ground.

Lee said the incident was made more hurtful as it came seven days before his father, who died in 1995, aged 38, would have turned 50.

He said: "A girl in the front row started shouting that we were United fans.

"I butted in and said he was with me and she got her dad and he started swearing at us.

"The next thing I knew it erupted around us.

"They were spitting and throwing drinks at us and we could have been quite badly hurt.

"We were shepherded out and we spoke to police outside who apologised to us but said they couldn't let us go back in there.

"I was very upset and still am. I've been going since I was a lad.

"I've been a mascot a few times especially when my dad was playing.

"It was very frightening. It was like being in the middle of a lynch mob.

"I've been a Rovers fan all my life and my dad played for them for a long time. I don't blame the Blackburn End though, they are going to react if they think a United fan is there.

"I won't stop going but it depends on how the club react and I'd like to see something done about it."

Lee said he would now press the club for a refund on the tickets and an investigation in to the identity of the girl and her father.

Blackburn Rovers stadium manager John Newsham said an investigation has been launched into the incident.

He said: "Lee and his cousin were wrongly identified by someone in the Blackburn End as opposing supporters.

"They were escorted away from the situation and potential problems by the police and stewards for safety reasons.

"We have since spoken to Lee and his family and the matter is under further investigation."

Chief Superintendent David Mallaby, who was match commander at the game, said the fixture saw more trouble than in recent meetings between the two clubs with 37 arrests being made.

As such, stewards and police were told to take decisive action to quell any potential flashpoints, Mr Mallaby said.

He said: "When you sell out the Darwen End you have to be careful about infiltration which can cause problems.

"When you get large numbers of male Manchester United fans together you have to take positive action such as escorting people out of the ground.

"Alcohol has played a part in many of these arrests and it will be something we'll be looking in to."

Noel Brotherston joined Rovers from Tottenham in 1977 and went on to make 369 appearances scoring 54 times before leaving for Bury in 1987.

Capped 27 times by Northern Ireland he eventually became a painter and decorator in Blackburn before he died of a heart attack in May 1995.