A LIFELONG Burnley fan has completed a two-year labour of love by penning a history of Clarets’ goalkeepers.

Mike Prosser was inspired to write the book to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust after his son Mark, 29, died from the illness six years ago.

MORE TOP STORIES:

Based in Hullbridge, Essex, 72-year-old Mike decided to support Burnley because he liked the name and their claret and blue colours.

He is now a member of the London Clarets, getting to around a dozen games a season, and was determined to write a book on his beloved football club.

He said: “When you write a book you feel more involved with the club, it will be on sale in the club shop, it was always something I wanted to do.

“I wanted to do something different, something that hadn’t been done before and this is what I came up with.”

Mike decided to donate funds to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust when he saw someone collecting for the charity at Turf Moor.

He said: “At that point I was keen to do something to raise funds as my own son died from it, so it seemed a good idea to tie the two in. An awful lot of research has gone into the book, it’s taken me about two years.

“It covers every goalkeeper who has played for the club since the 1890s, from Archie Kay through Jerry Dawson right up to Tom Heaton.

Mike was thankful to club historian Ray Simpson and Dave Thomas, author of several books on the club for their help, but his own journey to supporting Burnley is an unusual one.

He said: “I liked the name and the way they played in the 50s.

“The claret and blue struck me and I started following them, before I knew it they were in my heart.

“I’m involved with the London Clarets now and get to about six home games a season and the away games around London.”