VILLA fan Richard Mason cheered on his team in the Second City derby – as his wife was giving birth.
Not even the imminent arrival of his daughter Poppy Ava could stop Richard watching the action on his mobile phone in a delivery suite at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
And his wife Michelle even asked for score updates as her labour progressed.
“There was no way I could miss either occasion so I watched the match on my phone through all the screams in the background,” said 34-year-old Richard.
“Michelle wasn’t bothered because she even asked what the score was.”
Poppy, the couple’s third daughter, was born soon after the game kicked off at noon on Sunday weighing 8lbs 12oz.
Richard said it was fate that she came into the world during the game as the tot was conceived on the night of Villa’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea last April.
“It feels great to be a father again,” said Richard, who is head of the Great Barr Lions Aston Villa Supporter’s Club.
“The whole family are Villa fans and she’s the latest addition to that.”
