Despairing Brighton and Hove Albion fans have been urged to keep the faith by one of the club's longest-serving supporters.

Cyril Wall has been following the club through thick and thin - mostly thin, he admits - since attending his first match 67 years ago.

He insists the Albion can recover from their latest crisis, a 12-match losing run, and intends to be around when the good times return.

Cyril, 79, of Dawes Close, Worthing, began his love affair with the club when he was offered a complimentary ticket to a clash with Notts County in 1935.

The ticket came from Albion player Len Darling, who was taking coaching sessions at Cyril's school, Collyer's in Horsham.

Cyril was 12 at the time and had only ever been to see his local Worthing side play front of crowds of 300.

He was almost overwhelmed by the surge of 10,000 singing supporters surrounding him at the Goldstone Ground.

As the Albion ran out 5-1 winners, a lifelong passion was born.

To help pay for tickets, Cyril devoted much of his spare time to delivering copies of The Argus for his shopkeeper father.

He said: "I have been an avid reader of The Argus even longer than I have been going to the Albion, though I would always turn to the sports pages first."

He missed just 11 home games between buying his first season ticket in 1950 and the club's move from the Goldstone Ground in 1997.

He is still a season ticket-holder in the North Stand at Withdean, although he admits the team look doomed to relegation this season.

He said: "Last season I thought it might be better for Albion to reach the Division Two play-offs but lose the final.

"I didn't think we were good enough to go up and stay up but this season has been even worse than I could have imagined. We're hamstrung because of the delays over getting the new ground.

"But as soon as the first sod is turned over at the new stadium, it will be a fresh awakening. The money will pour in and players will want to come."

He worries recent converts to the Albion may get disillusioned by their plight after enjoying successive promotions.

He said: "The fans have to keep going. You can't give up on the club you love.

"I saw Albion go down two divisions in a row in the Sixties but we came back."

Cyril's all-time favourite Albion players include Brian Horton - "he controlled the team, a fantastic captain" - and Glen Wilson, after whom he named his son Glen.

One of his most treasured memories is being part of Albion's record crowd of 36,747 for a 3-0 win over Fulham on December 27, 1958.

That season was Albion's first in the old Division Two and had begun with a 9-0 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Cyril said: "It was a bit like this season. We started off in the depths of despair but by Christmas we were improving.

"Everyone was in a festive mood and turned up to see us beat a very good Fulham side."

Cyril was one of 11 long-serving fans paraded on the Withdean pitch in October last year to mark the club's centenary.

The veteran fans were treated to lunch as guests of the club and received Albion memorabilia signed by chairman Dick Knight, chief executive Martin Perry and then-manager Peter Taylor.

Cyril wrote to Mr Knight thanking him for the hospitality and offering to return the favour when the chairman reached 67 years of following the club.

Mr Knight replied, promising to take him up on the offer - predicting that by that point Albion would be competing with Real Madrid for the European Cup.

That really would be a nice one for Cyril to savour.