Elland Road burger seller hailed as a hero for saving special hot dogs for autistic Leeds United fan

Ethan Hyde, from York, travels to all of Leeds United's home matches with his parents Dave and Wendi - but his autism means that he will not eat traditional English sausages, preferring frankfurter-style hot dogs from the burger vans outside Elland Road.

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Ethan was gutted when he found out his favourite snack had sold out one match day - until heroic caterer Steve Spencer stepped in.

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The burger van owner promised to save a hot dog for Ethan after every game - even if he sold the rest of his stock.

Ethan's delighted dad Dave said:

"My son is autistic so really struggles with food textures and one of the very few things he will eat is a hot dog - but he will not eat real sausages.

"Last week all the vans outside sent us away after the game as they had run out. But Steve, upon meeting my son, was genuinely gutted he could not help and after hearing about Ethan's issues and promised to save him one after every game.

"What a bloke - true to his word, next time we were queuing he came out with the biggest hot dog ever to the back of the queue to personally deliver it. He spent five minutes with my son and made his day.

"We will now go every game as a hot dog is always saved for him and personally delivered no matter how busy Steve is, and it has become part of his match-day experience .

"He makes such an effort for a young man he didn't know."