Leeds United superfan who had held a season ticket since the 1930s dies aged 94

A Leeds United supporter who held a season ticket for 64 consecutive seasons has passed away.

Edna Newton, 94, had been following the Whites since the late 1930s and always sat in the West Stand.

She was from a longstanding Leeds United-supporting family and her attendance at matches pre-dated the Don Revie era. Edna lived close to Elland Road on Wesley Street.

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Edna Newton's interview in 2014Her first season ticket cost £4, she was in the crowd for the 1975 European Cup final in Paris and her favourite player was John Charles.

Twitter has been flooded with tributes to the devoted fan - with fellow supporters even suggesting the 94th minute of a match should be referred to as 'Edna time'.

Simon Harper: "Her seat was next to mine for a while. She was a character and will be missed."

Chris Collinson: "Just informed my dad, his season ticket was next to her in the West Stand and he’s devastated, he’s sat next to her for last four seasons, what a lovely women. RIP Edna."

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Michelle Edwards: "This breaks my heart, I only saw her a few games ago and she was full of life, smiling and joking. She is a true fan, and she will be hugely missed. RIP Edna."

Chris Lake: "Wow, season tickets holder for longer than many of us have been alive. The term 'through thick and thin' really is appropriate. RIP Edna, you make us proud to be Leeds."

Charlie Phillips: "Gosh I remember her from the 80s and 90s. What a ride she went on. Amazing. All the best to her family and friends."

Edna, a former food factory manager, was interviewed by the Yorkshire Evening Post in 2014, aged 90.

She told us:-

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“I want to keep going to games for as long as I can. I go by myself these days but get on really well with the people I sit next to. They don’t have any idea how old I am - although they will when they read this, of course!

“Someone once asked my brother how I managed to afford a season ticket every year. I told him, ‘I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t have a toy boy and I don’t back slow horses, that’s how I do it’.”

"I knew John Charles, he was a smashing fellow. I used to think Carl Shutt was great as well - if you needed a goal he would come on and get you one, like he did [in the European Cup] against Stuttgart.”

Edna’s nephew, Colin Newton, described her as a 'stalwart of the family and the whole community'.

“She’ll do anything for anyone. We’ve all grown up thinking of Leeds United almost as part of the family.”

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