A YOUNSTER named after Brighton and Hove Albion had the day of his life when got up close to his football heroes at Sunday’s victory parade.

Angus Albion Heritage, ten, from Wandsworth, London, was overjoyed when he snapped a picture of winger Anthony Knockaert and defender Lewis Dunk cheering at him from the blue and white team bus on the seafront.

Albion fan Angus was given his middle name by his football mad father.

Angus said: “My heart leapt when I saw Steve Sidwell looking at me. I was so excited.

“I couldn’t really see anything when I was taking the photo because the sun was in my eyes, so I didn’t expect the photo to be that good.”

Angus and his dad Jeff Heritage, a lifelong Seagulls fan originally from Crawley, were among the 100,000 people who came together to celebrate Albion’s promotion to the Premier League.

Crowds lined the length of the seafront, whistling, cheering and blowing horns as they waited for their first glimpse of the players.

The pair waited in Kingsway for the bus to arrive, before Angus stood on a barrier and took the picture on his mobile phone.

The lead bus carried the players, with Bruno and Knockaert in prime position at the front, waving at the crowd.

Year 5 pupil Angus, who plays for Clapham Rangers, said he was proud of the middle name given by his dad.

Jeff, 47, said: “My dad wanted Angus’s middle name to be Albert because that was my granddad’s name.

“Then I joked, ‘What about Albion?’ and everyone sort of laughed.

“Then a couple of days after he was born I went to the register office and I called him Albion.”

Angus’s mother Marie described her husband as an Albion fanatic.

She said: “When Jeff suggested the name I was very surprised because I thought it was unusual to name your child after a football club.

“But it did sort of match and it fits together with the rest of his name.”

Since he was little, Angus has been supporting the Albion and often travels to the Amex to watch games with his dad, despite being surrounded by Chelsea FC supporters at school.

Angus said: “I would still be a Brighton fan if they didn’t get promoted, but I’m very happy they have been promoted.”

His dad added: “Over the years he got the mickey taken out of him in school for being an Albion supporter.

“But I said to him after they were promoted, during his Easter holidays, to go back and hold his head high.”